William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 34,320 Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. $KNX

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 544,239 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,320 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $28,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth $7,534,000. MQS Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 16,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 6,934 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth $2,073,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth $66,151,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 6,983 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, CFO Joshua Smith sold 5,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.91, for a total value of $351,450.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,224.74. The trade was a 38.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.71.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $70.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 333.93 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.35. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.63 and a twelve month high of $71.63.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.20). Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 2.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Knight-Swift Transportation’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is presently 380.95%.

Knight-Swift Transportation 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.