Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $68.00 to $74.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the transportation company’s stock.

KNX has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Knight-Swift Transportation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.78.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $61.23 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.77 and its 200 day moving average is $69.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.21. Knight-Swift Transportation has a one year low of $41.24 and a one year high of $82.86.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.07. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 4.71%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is 307.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, Director David Vander Ploeg sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.33, for a total transaction of $115,126.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,583,087.16. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Reid Dove sold 126,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.13, for a total transaction of $9,277,564.32. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 224,954 shares of company stock valued at $16,183,454. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,458,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $486,995,000 after buying an additional 60,750 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the second quarter worth approximately $173,669,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 24.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 842,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,519,000 after acquiring an additional 166,919 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 38.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 595,649 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,297,000 after acquiring an additional 166,668 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 152.4% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 426,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,175,000 after acquiring an additional 257,256 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Knight-Swift Transportation

Here are the key news stories impacting Knight-Swift Transportation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KNX reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.83, above the approximately $0.75–$0.76 analyst consensus, while revenue of $2.20 billion also exceeded expectations. EPS more than doubled from $0.32 a year earlier, supported by improving truckload pricing and early margin recovery. Knight-Swift Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects truckload operating income to improve meaningfully in the fourth quarter, and commentary pointed to tighter capacity and better pricing as potential catalysts for further earnings recovery. First look at Knight-Swift’s Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts still see substantial upside: Stifel raised its price target to $92 with a buy rating, while Wells Fargo maintained an overweight rating despite lowering its target to $79. A valuation analysis also suggested KNX may be significantly undervalued if the earnings recovery continues. Knight-Swift may be undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its target from $68 to $74 but kept a neutral rating, indicating that analysts recognize the recovery potential while remaining cautious about execution and industry conditions. JPMorgan analyst action
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of $0.78–$0.84 has a midpoint of $0.81, slightly below the $0.82 consensus estimate. The guidance may be weighing on the stock because it suggests that the recovery will be gradual rather than immediate. Knight-Swift Q4 guidance

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight services across North America. The company operates one of the largest truckload fleets in the United States and serves a broad range of industries through its network of company-owned equipment, independent contractors, terminals and distribution facilities.

Its services include dry-van, refrigerated and flatbed truckload transportation; dedicated and expedited delivery; less-than-truckload shipping; freight brokerage; intermodal transportation; cross-border logistics; and warehousing and other supply-chain services.