Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 20,305 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth $297,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 4th quarter worth $424,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,497 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on KNX. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX opened at $46.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.77 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.61. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.95 and a 12-month high of $61.51.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. As a group, research analysts predict that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is presently 98.63%.

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.