Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Stock Price

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on KNX. Raymond James lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.59.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

KNX stock opened at $44.63 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.17. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12 month low of $42.72 and a 12 month high of $61.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its 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 return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. On average, analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,146,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,878,000 after acquiring an additional 26,346 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation in the 4th quarter valued at $3,021,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,907 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,771,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 681.6% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 60,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,237,000 after buying an additional 52,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 116.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 130,794 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,056,000 after buying an additional 70,276 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.