Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires 9,302 Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. $KNX

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 161.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,079 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,302 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation in the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 280.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Cary Flanagan sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $254,952.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,405 shares in the company, valued at $382,782.10. The trade was a 39.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Reid Dove sold 126,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.13, for a total value of $9,277,564.32. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 224,954 shares of company stock valued at $16,183,454. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX stock opened at $60.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.24 and a 52 week high of $82.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 65.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.90.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 4.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is currently 86.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KNX. TD Cowen raised their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark increased their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.22.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight services across North America. The company operates one of the largest truckload fleets in the United States and serves a broad range of industries through its network of company-owned equipment, independent contractors, terminals and distribution facilities.

Its services include dry-van, refrigerated and flatbed truckload transportation; dedicated and expedited delivery; less-than-truckload shipping; freight brokerage; intermodal transportation; cross-border logistics; and warehousing and other supply-chain services.