Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 770 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $1,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 13.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,075,449 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $219,870,000 after acquiring an additional 467,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,740,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,529,000 after purchasing an additional 46,436 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,412,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,224,000 after purchasing an additional 359,566 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the third quarter worth $70,185,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,337,737 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,171,000 after buying an additional 6,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup cut shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.38.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total transaction of $28,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,754,625.90. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,703,061.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

KNX opened at $58.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.23 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.55 and a 52-week high of $61.51.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. Equities analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.67%.

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.