Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys New Shares in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 809 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KNX opened at $44.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.36. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.72 and a 1 year high of $61.51.

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

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.63%.

Insider Activity at Knight-Swift Transportation

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KNX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Susquehanna raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.41.

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.