Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 36.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.69.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KNX traded down $1.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $51.42. 1,763,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,060,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 52-week low of $45.55 and a 52-week high of $60.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.27 and a 200-day moving average of $50.37.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.33, for a total value of $1,509,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,467,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,852,228.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 30,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.33, for a total transaction of $1,509,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,467,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,852,228.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 45,000 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total value of $2,318,850.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,422,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,294,210.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,196 shares of company stock valued at $4,367,869. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KNX. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 3,461.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 748 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 28.6% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 50.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,020 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 168.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 923 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 36.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

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.