Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of KNX Q1 Earnings

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the transportation company will post earnings per share of $0.30 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.35. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Knight-Swift Transportation’s current full-year earnings is $2.13 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Knight-Swift Transportation’s Q3 2026 earnings at $0.52 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.60 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.89 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.70 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.94 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.93 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $3.04 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.32 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on KNX. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNX opened at $60.27 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.20. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 147.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.15. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12-month low of $36.69 and a 12-month high of $61.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its 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). Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.88% and a net margin of 0.88%.The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,496,137 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $335,682,000 after purchasing an additional 76,342 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,267,687 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $326,664,000 after purchasing an additional 124,426 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,676,422 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $244,250,000 after acquiring an additional 315,192 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,430,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $127,087,000 after purchasing an additional 745,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 252.4% during the 3rd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 2,262,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $89,377,000 after buying an additional 1,620,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total transaction of $324,074.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $477,375.32. This represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 46,852 shares of company stock valued at $2,426,770 over the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Knight-Swift Transportation

Here are the key news stories impacting Knight-Swift Transportation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed its rating (neutral) and set a $64 price target, giving investors an explicit upside reference that can support buying interest. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Q2 2026 EPS estimate to $0.48 (from $0.46), a small but constructive near‑term revision that can lift quarter‑specific expectations. MarketBeat Zacks note
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage consensus coverage referenced by AmericanBankingNews shows a “Moderate Buy” takeaway, which may attract momentum buyers and support sentiment. AmericanBankingNews
• Positive Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance piece argues the recent soft quarter may be less damaging than headlines suggest, a narrative that can limit downside after the January earnings miss. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership remains high (around ~89%), and recent small position changes by some funds are unlikely to move shares materially in isolation but reflect ongoing institutional interest. MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks issued a series of downward revisions to multiple quarters and trimmed FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts (FY2026 to $1.89, FY2027 to $3.04), flagging weaker near‑term profit outlook and raising execution risk. MarketBeat Zacks notes
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares (reducing his position ~40%) and EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares; material insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even if driven by personal liquidity or tax planning. SEC filing (Fitzsimmons) SEC filing (Liu)
• Negative Sentiment: January quarter missed consensus (EPS and revenue) and revenue was slightly down year‑over‑year — the earnings miss remains a baseline risk until upcoming quarterly cadence confirms improvement. MarketBeat earnings summary

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.