Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Boosts Stock Position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,801 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.05% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $4,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth $3,021,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,175,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,340,000 after acquiring an additional 28,387 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,242,000 after acquiring an additional 115,447 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth about $749,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

NYSE KNX opened at $38.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.69 and a fifty-two week high of $61.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.28 and a 200-day moving average of $51.56. The stock has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.38 and a beta of 1.16.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. As a group, analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on KNX. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $63.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.13.

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.