Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,533 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,473 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $2,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KNX. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Knight-Swift Transportation in the fourth quarter worth about $3,021,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation by 30.9% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,907 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,771,000 after buying an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,175,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,340,000 after buying an additional 28,387 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 21.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,242,000 after buying an additional 115,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. raised its position in Knight-Swift Transportation by 199.2% in the fourth quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 29,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 19,725 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KNX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on Knight-Swift Transportation in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Knight-Swift Transportation from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $67.00 to $54.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.24.

Insider Transactions at Knight-Swift Transportation

In other Knight-Swift Transportation news, Director Douglas L. Col purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.37 per share, for a total transaction of $226,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $226,850. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Knight-Swift Transportation stock opened at $45.06 on Thursday. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.51. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 61.73 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is 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.