Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,921,421 shares, a drop of 17.9% from the January 15th total of 9,653,685 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,765,830 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,765,830 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other news, SVP Reed Stultz sold 4,692 shares of Knight-Swift Transportation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total transaction of $241,684.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,952.15. The trade was a 90.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO James L. Fitzsimmons sold 5,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total value of $324,074.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,375.32. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 46,852 shares of company stock worth $2,426,770 in the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNX. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $830,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 701,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,730,000 after purchasing an additional 38,474 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,361,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $169,826,000 after purchasing an additional 765,833 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the third quarter valued at approximately $749,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,232,000. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Knight-Swift Transportation stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,367,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,068. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 144.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 0.86. Knight-Swift Transportation has a 1-year low of $36.69 and a 1-year high of $62.20.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 2.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Knight-Swift Transportation has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.61%.

About Knight-Swift Transportation

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.