Barclays Lowers Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Price Target to $62.00

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $68.00 to $62.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Raymond James raised their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark initiated coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.24.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.53. 2,107,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,248,856. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $49.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.79. Knight-Swift Transportation has a twelve month low of $36.69 and a twelve month high of $61.51. The company has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.82 and a beta of 1.16.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio is 98.63%.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Director Douglas L. Col acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,850. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 685 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 809 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,254 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.