Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) Updates Q3 Earnings Guidance

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) issued an update on its third quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.31-$0.35 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.49. Knight-Swift Transportation also updated its Q2 guidance to $0.26-$0.30 EPS.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.51. 3,298,149 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,138,811. The company has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.26. Knight-Swift Transportation has a fifty-two week low of $45.73 and a fifty-two week high of $60.99.

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

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on KNX. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $53.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, CAO Cary M. Flanagan sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,836.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.