Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Rating Increased to Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $66.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $54.00.

Several other brokerages have also commented on KNX. Benchmark boosted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore lifted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup upgraded Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.44.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Up 1.2%

KNX opened at $53.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.23. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 12 month low of $36.69 and a 12 month high of $64.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is 195.12%.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,375.32. This represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $1,830,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,305,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,626,167. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,930 shares of company stock worth $2,581,186. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knight-Swift Transportation

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KNX. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 3,757 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Dean Capital Management grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 44,563 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth $243,000. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.