Allstate Corp Invests $252,000 in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 4,747 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KNX. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,980,109 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $423,265,000 after acquiring an additional 506,491 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,201,276 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $221,541,000 after purchasing an additional 125,827 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,740,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,529,000 after buying an additional 46,436 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,185,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Knight-Swift Transportation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,839,000. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of KNX stock opened at $45.06 on Thursday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.34 and a twelve month high of $61.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.73 and a beta of 0.97.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a return on equity of 2.43% and a net margin of 1.59%. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KNX. Barclays dropped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas L. Col bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $45.37 per share, with a total value of $226,850.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,850. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.