Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Price Target Lowered to $53.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) had its price objective reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $60.00 to $53.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $53.00 in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.77.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX stock opened at $47.88 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.19. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 52 week low of $45.73 and a 52 week high of $60.99.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 3.04%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total transaction of $112,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,836.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 67.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 667 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 732 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services in the United States and Mexico. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Less-than-truckload (LTL), Logistics, and Intermodal. The Truckload segment provides transportation services, which include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border operations.