Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $56.34, but opened at $55.00. Knight-Swift Transportation shares last traded at $54.39, with a volume of 348,023 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KNX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.56.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 239.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.51 and a 200 day moving average of $53.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 1.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 278.27%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,703,061.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total transaction of $28,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,754,625.90. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 809 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,407 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 14,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

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.