Insider Buying: Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Director Purchases 5,000 Shares of Stock

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $226,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of KNX stock opened at $46.56 on Friday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.95 and a fifty-two week high of $61.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.77 and a beta of 0.97.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted 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%. Research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.63%.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter worth $70,185,000. Interval Partners LP boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 320.7% in the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 1,754,822 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,727 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,839,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,355,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,435,562 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,142,000 after buying an additional 535,518 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Susquehanna raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $67.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.41.

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.