Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Benchmark

Analysts at Benchmark began coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $63.00 price target on the transportation company's stock. Benchmark's price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.26% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on KNX. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.59.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

KNX traded up $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.12. 594,853 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,558,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.41 and a beta of 0.99. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1 year low of $45.55 and a 1 year high of $61.51. The business's 50 day moving average price is $54.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.92.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 685 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 87.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 747 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 809 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% in the third 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 period. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.