Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $47.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.66% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.94.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX opened at $52.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 52-week low of $45.55 and a 52-week high of $60.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.35. The company has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.33, for a total transaction of $1,509,900.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,467,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,852,228.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.33, for a total transaction of $1,509,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,467,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,852,228.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert E. Synowicki, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.32, for a total value of $133,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,164,135.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,196 shares of company stock worth $4,367,869 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 99,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 47,731 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 391,491 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,842 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,328,000 after buying an additional 8,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

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.