MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,564 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,445 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $4,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,594,817 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $379,133,000 after purchasing an additional 744,412 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 27.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,431,299 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $271,121,000 after buying an additional 1,176,069 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 13.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,075,449 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $219,870,000 after buying an additional 467,647 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.6% in the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,637,206 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,729,000 after acquiring an additional 57,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Knight-Swift Transportation by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,337,737 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,803 shares during the last quarter. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knight-Swift Transportation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KNX opened at $59.36 on Monday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.55 and a 52 week high of $60.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 258.10, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.71.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 1.81%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Knight-Swift Transportation’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 278.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KNX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Knight-Swift Transportation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ploeg David Vander sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $28,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,754,625.90. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Kevin P. Knight sold 29,779 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,703,061.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation 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.