Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $18.44 Million Stock Holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 347,686 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 52,387 shares during the period. Knight-Swift Transportation comprises about 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $18,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 809 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

KNX opened at $44.63 on Friday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.72 and a 1 year high of $61.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.14 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.17.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,850. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KNX. Benchmark started coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.59.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

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.