Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $49.51 Million Stock Holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) by 42.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 933,359 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 280,121 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation were worth $49,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings 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 last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,182 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in Knight-Swift Transportation by 87.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.77% of the company’s stock.

Knight-Swift Transportation Stock Performance

Shares of KNX stock opened at $53.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 73.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.55 and a 12 month high of $61.51.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Knight-Swift Transportation had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 2.43%. Analysts forecast that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knight-Swift Transportation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Knight-Swift Transportation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Knight-Swift Transportation’s payout ratio is currently 87.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Knight-Swift Transportation from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Knight-Swift Transportation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.38.

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.