Knight Transportation (KNX) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $6.41B
• Dividend Yield: 1.67%
• Average Volume (3M): 3.58M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 54.6
• Beta (1Y): 1.13
• Revenue Growth: 3.76%
• EPS Growth: -46.10%
• Country: US
• Employees: 35,300
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 68
• Industry: Trucking
• EPS (TTM): 0.72
• Shares Outstanding: 161,975,630
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 3,232,772
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 3,575,348
• PEG Ratio: N/A
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.97
• Price to Cash Flow (P/CF): 6.60
• P/FCF Ratio: 6.60
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: $58.36
• Price Target Upside: 49.72% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 14

Knight Transportation's overall stock score reflects a blend of stable yet challenged financial performance, bearish technical trends, and high valuation concerns. The earnings call provides some optimism for future growth, but current operational inefficiencies and market conditions weigh heavily. The stock may be better suited for cautious investors looking for long-term recovery potential.

Positive Factors

Earnings

Knight's TL rates are starting to improve, with spot truckload rates rising and revenue per loaded mile increasing for the last two quarters.

Market Position

KNX is well positioned to benefit with early cyclicals despite the ongoing freight recession.

Strategic Initiatives

Several margin improvement opportunities from pricing, the USX acquisition, and scaling into a national LTL carrier.

Negative Factors

EPS Estimates

Analyst lowers EPS estimates driven mainly by a slower flow-through of truckload rates.

Freight Market

The delayed time frame for a freight market inflection likely continues to weigh on 2025 EPS.

Market Conditions

Knight-Swift Transportation recently noted at industry conferences that it was not seeing additional strength, which is typical in 4Q, as project business remains sporadic.

Knight Transportation Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides truckload transportation services in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Trucking, Logistics, Less-than-truckload (LTL), and Intermodal. Its trucking services include irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, dry van, drayage, and cross-border transportation of various products, goods, and materials. The company also provides logistics and intermodal services, such as brokerage, intermodal, and certain logistics; freight management; and non-trucking services. In addition, it offers various support services, including repair and maintenance shop services, warranty, insurance, and equipment leasing; and trailer parts manufacturing and warehousing services, as well as engages in the driving academy activities. In addition, it offers regional direct services to customers national transportation needs by utilizing carriers for coverage areas outside networks. The company operates a total of 18,019 tractors, which comprises 16,166 company tractors and 1,853 independent contractor tractors, as well as 67,606 trailers; 2,735 tractors and 7,413 trailers; and 597 tractors and 10,847 intermodal containers. It serves retail, food and beverage, consumer products, paper products, transportation and logistics, housing and building, automotive, and manufacturing industries. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

How the Company Makes Money

Knight Transportation generates revenue primarily through its truckload transportation services, which include dry van, refrigerated, and dedicated trucking. The company earns money by charging clients for transporting goods over long distances using its fleet of trucks. Revenue streams are bolstered by the company's operational efficiency and ability to manage logistics effectively. Additionally, Knight Transportation benefits from strategic partnerships and contracts with major shippers, ensuring a steady flow of business. Other contributing factors to its earnings include fuel surcharge programs and ancillary services such as logistics and brokerage solutions.

Knight Transportation Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Knight Transportation's financial health appears relatively stable, with strong equity backing and manageable debt levels. However, recent profitability challenges and lack of cash flow data for 2024 may indicate operational inefficiencies or strategic reinvestment. The company needs to address these areas to maintain long-term financial health and investor confidence.

Income Statement

Knight Transportation's income statement reveals a stable revenue trend with a slight growth rate over the years. The latest Gross Profit Margin stands at 34.35%, a strong indicator of cost management efficiency. However, the Net Profit Margin dropped to 1.59% in 2024 from 3.04% in 2023, suggesting challenges in converting revenue to net income due to increased expenses or reduced efficiencies. The EBIT and EBITDA margins are reasonable, at 3.28% and 9.41% respectively, although a decline in EBIT Margin from the previous year indicates some operational inefficiencies.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows a robust equity base, with a Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 0.19, signaling a conservative leverage approach. The Equity Ratio of 55.98% reflects a strong reliance on equity financing, providing financial stability. ROE has decreased to 1.65% from 3.06% in 2023, pointing to lower profitability from the shareholders' perspective. Overall, the balance sheet is stable with minimal risk from debt obligations.

Cash Flow

Cash flow analysis shows volatility with zero reported figures for 2024, raising concerns about operational cash generation and capital expenditure. In previous years, the Free Cash Flow showed fluctuations, with a significant drop in 2024 compared to past performance. The Operating Cash Flow to Net Income ratio was favorable in past years, indicating efficient cash conversion, but the absence of recent data suggests potential liquidity management issues.

Breakdown
Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement		Total Revenue
7.41B	7.14B	7.43B	6.00B	4.67B
	Gross Profit
1.03B	1.25B	1.77B	1.41B	969.12M
	EBIT
243.39M	338.15M	412.30M	418.18M	76.28M
	EBITDA
1.11B	1.13B	1.77B	1.62B	1.17B
	Net Income Common Stockholders
117.63M	217.15M	771.33M	743.39M	410.00M
Balance Sheet		Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
218.26M	168.54M	196.77M	261.00M	156.70M
	Total Assets
12.70B	12.87B	10.95B	10.66B	8.47B
	Total Debt
1.37B	3.20B	2.09B	2.24B	817.08M
	Net Debt
1.01B	3.03B	1.89B	1.98B	660.38M
	Total Liabilities
5.58B	5.77B	4.00B	4.11B	2.60B
	Stockholders Equity
7.11B	7.09B	6.95B	6.53B	5.87B
Cash Flow		Free Cash Flow
-20.09M	90.06M	635.29M	656.06M	398.58M
	Operating Cash Flow
799.06M	1.16B	1.44B	1.19B	919.64M
	Investing Cash Flow
-759.12M	-1.23B	-646.18M	-1.82B	-480.71M
	Financing Cash Flow
-139.40M	150.69M	-754.35M	779.33M	-443.88M

Knight Transportation Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 38.98
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For KNX, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 38.98 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 44.62, below the 50-day MA of 49.78, and below the 200-day MA of 51.90, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -1.88 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 30.83 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 30.42 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for KNX.

Knight Transportation Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
ODFL	68 Neutral	$33.10B	28.43	27.90%	0.68%	-0.88%	-2.79%
CHRW	68 Neutral	$11.20B	24.56	29.65%	2.61%	0.73%	41.65%
LSTR	67 Neutral	$4.90B	25.14	20.03%	1.02%	-9.13%	-25.11%
SAIA	67 Neutral	$8.52B	23.86	17.03%	―	11.37%	1.82%
JBHT	65 Neutral	$13.62B	24.52	14.06%	1.27%	-5.79%	-20.32%
Sector *	62 Neutral	$8.08B	13.63	3.82%	3.13%	3.58%	-14.35%
KNX	61 Neutral	$6.41B	54.56	1.66%	1.67%	3.76%	-46.10%

Knight Transportation Corporate Events

Knight Transportation Appoints Douglas Col to Board

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. announced the appointment of Douglas Col to its Board of Directors, effective March 13, 2025. Mr. Col, recognized as an independent director, brings extensive experience in the transportation sector, having served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Saia, Inc. His appointment is expected to enhance the company’s governance and strategic oversight, potentially impacting its industry positioning positively.