Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $75.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Knight-Swift Transportation traded as high as $64.10 and last traded at $63.50, with a volume of 3120319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.61.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on KNX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.56.

Insider Activity

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, EVP Michael K. Liu sold 1,243 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $477,375.32. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,930 shares of company stock worth $4,366,536. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 884 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 7,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 936 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 111.3% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.67 and its 200-day moving average is $49.42.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.61%.

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.