Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Trading 7.1% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) rose 7.1% on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $61.12 and last traded at $64.0050. Approximately 838,723 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 3,323,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.77.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 380.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KNX. Citigroup upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.71.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Up 7.1%

The company has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 303.91 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.12.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $1,830,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,305,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,626,167. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.91, for a total transaction of $351,450.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,214 shares in the company, valued at $561,224.74. The trade was a 38.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 868 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,478.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 884 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

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.