Raymond James Issues Positive Forecast for Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Stock Price

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Raymond James from $60.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "strong-buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Raymond James' price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.37% from the stock's previous close.

KNX has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $48.00 to $67.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on 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, Barclays boosted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.44.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of KNX stock traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.38. 1,552,092 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,082. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12-month low of $45.55 and a 12-month high of $60.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 227.75, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $55.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.99. 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 (NYSE:KNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,703,061.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $28,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,754,625.90. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNX. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,729,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,146,948 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,878,000 after purchasing an additional 26,346 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,907 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,771,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 681.6% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 60,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 52,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 116.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 130,794 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,056,000 after purchasing an additional 70,276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company's stock.

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.