Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $66.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $54.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on KNX. Wells Fargo & Company set a $64.00 target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.44.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Down 0.2%

Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $53.27 on Wednesday. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12-month low of $36.69 and a 12-month high of $64.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.87 and a 200 day moving average of $50.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 2.88%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is 195.12%.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total value of $324,074.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $477,375.32. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $75,661.41. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 42,930 shares of company stock worth $2,581,186 in the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,918,523 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $675,380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,468,293 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 513.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,416,865 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $126,354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022,996 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,070,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 269.7% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,231,439 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $88,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP raised its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 252.4% in the 3rd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 2,262,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $89,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,224 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc (NYSE: KNX) is one of North America’s largest asset-based truckload carriers, offering a wide range of transportation and logistics services. The company was formed in 2017 through the merger of Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation, each with decades of experience in long-haul dry van and refrigerated freight. Since the merger, Knight-Swift has pursued a growth strategy that includes fleet expansions, targeted acquisitions, and investments in technology to enhance service reliability and network efficiency.

The company’s core business activities include full truckload operations for dry van, temperature-controlled and flatbed shipments.