Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $51.52, but opened at $53.99. Knight-Swift Transportation shares last traded at $53.29, with a volume of 211,529 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KNX. Wolfe Research lowered Knight-Swift Transportation from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup started coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.88.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 76.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average is $52.19 and its 200-day moving average is $50.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation's dividend payout ratio is currently 95.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 5,696 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total value of $304,679.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total transaction of $2,318,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,422,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,294,210.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 5,696 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total value of $304,679.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,196 shares of company stock valued at $4,367,869 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,686.4% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 66,098 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 62,398 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,935,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 89,821 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 15,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 9.0% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 263,033 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,131,000 after purchasing an additional 21,689 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is 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.