Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Short Interest Update

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,150,000 shares, a drop of 29.1% from the February 28th total of 8,670,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col purchased 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $226,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $497,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,796,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 21,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth $247,000. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KNX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.59.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

KNX stock traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.54. 2,229,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,812. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.65 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.13. Knight-Swift Transportation has a one year low of $42.72 and a one 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.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is 98.63%.

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.