Country Trust Bank Reduces Stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Country Trust Bank lessened its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,393 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,456 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank owned about 0.37% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $31,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the third quarter valued at approximately $70,185,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,775,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,075,449 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $219,870,000 after purchasing an additional 467,647 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 929,083 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,124,000 after purchasing an additional 396,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,412,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,224,000 after purchasing an additional 359,566 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total transaction of $28,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,754,625.90. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,703,061.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

NYSE KNX opened at $58.57 on Friday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.55 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.70. The firm has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.23 and a beta of 0.98.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is 87.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KNX shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.38.

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.