Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 52,387 Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 347,686 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 52,387 shares during the period. Knight-Swift Transportation accounts for 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.21% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $18,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,185,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,839,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,980,109 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $423,265,000 after buying an additional 506,491 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,412,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,224,000 after buying an additional 359,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth about $16,256,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $226,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 0.1 %

KNX stock opened at $44.63 on Friday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $42.72 and a one year high of $61.51. The stock has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.17. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is presently 98.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KNX. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company 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 stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark assumed 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. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.59.

Knight-Swift Transportation 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.