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

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a sell (d+) rating to a hold (c-) rating. The company traded as high as $65.27 and last traded at $64.2650, with a volume of 383588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.56.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knight-Swift Transportation

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 shares were sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total transaction of $324,074.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,375.32. This represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,214 shares in the company, valued at $561,224.74. This trade represents a 38.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 42,930 shares of company stock valued at $2,581,186 over the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Knight-Swift Transportation

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

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target on KNX from $65 to $70 and maintained a “buy” rating, providing bullish analyst support that can lift sentiment and buying interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Knight‑Swift introduced second-quarter 2026 guidance of $0.450–$0.490 EPS, roughly in line with the $0.480 consensus, which reduces downside surprise risk for Q2 and gives investors a clearer near-term outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Business press and market previews ahead of the quarter highlighted expectations for declining Q1 results, keeping investor attention on guidance and cost drivers rather than surprise upside. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Knight‑Swift sharply cut Q1 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $0.08–$0.10 from a prior $0.28–$0.32 range, well below the ~$0.25 consensus, signaling a significant near-term earnings hit. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The company attributed the Q1 hit to higher fuel costs and winter-weather disruptions, which increase operating costs and weigh on margins — a near-term earnings headwind investors are discounting. Article Title

Institutional Trading of Knight-Swift Transportation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 3rd quarter worth about $830,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,496,137 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $335,682,000 after acquiring an additional 76,342 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 701,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,730,000 after acquiring an additional 38,474 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,361,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $169,826,000 after acquiring an additional 765,833 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the 3rd quarter worth about $913,000. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

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’s fifty day moving average is $58.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 156.74, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.11.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released 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 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 analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The firm’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. On average, analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is currently 195.12%.

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.