Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 653,238 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,447 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Knight-Swift Transportation worth $35,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KNX. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,762 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,620 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 1st quarter worth about $281,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 293,637 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,156,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,864 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

NYSE:KNX traded down $2.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.65. 1,806,228 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,070,432. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 256.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.55 and a 12 month high of $60.99.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 1.81% and a net margin of 0.50%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Knight-Swift Transportation's payout ratio is 278.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, Director Robert E. Synowicki, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 21,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,164,135.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.