Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Shares Purchased by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,700 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $5,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,964,291 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $750,459,000 after purchasing an additional 54,133 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 15.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,578,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $680,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794,133 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,060,156 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $176,418,000 after acquiring an additional 167,691 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,724,604 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $136,639,000 after acquiring an additional 132,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 9.7% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,822,642 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $91,405,000 after acquiring an additional 161,651 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.65. 2,226,337 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,123,314. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.73 and a fifty-two week high of $60.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.38). Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 3.04%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is 48.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on KNX shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $59.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.77.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total value of $112,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,118 shares in the company, valued at $287,836.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

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.