Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,541,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,102 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.95% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $81,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter worth about $3,021,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,175,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,340,000 after buying an additional 28,387 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,242,000 after acquiring an additional 115,447 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 199.2% during the fourth quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 29,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 19,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

NYSE:KNX opened at $42.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.12 and a beta of 1.18. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $36.69 and a one year high of $61.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,850. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on KNX. Citigroup raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut Knight-Swift Transportation from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.60.

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.