Loop Capital Downgrades Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) to Hold

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) was downgraded by analysts at Loop Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $53.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $63.00. Loop Capital’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.05% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on KNX. Barclays decreased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

NYSE:KNX opened at $48.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.18. The stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.99. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1-year low of $45.73 and a 1-year high of $60.99.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 3.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total transaction of $112,480.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,836.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 22.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 76,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,855,000 after purchasing an additional 13,808 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 57.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,450 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 5,283 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 23.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,997 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 2,677 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.8% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 211,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,126,000 after buying an additional 7,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 141,380 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,135,000 after buying an additional 8,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Company Profile

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services in the United States and Mexico. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Less-than-truckload (LTL), Logistics, and Intermodal. The Truckload segment provides transportation services, which include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border operations.