Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Citigroup upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $52.01, but opened at $54.50. Citigroup now has a $64.00 price target on the stock. Knight-Swift Transportation shares last traded at $52.5860, with a volume of 488,227 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on KNX. UBS Group increased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens lowered 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 note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.78.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $1,830,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,305,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,626,167. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total value of $324,074.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,375.32. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 42,930 shares of company stock worth $2,581,186 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 134.6% in the fourth 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1,478.6% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 884 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 7,100.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 936 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 111.3% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 936 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 126.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.05.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

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

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.