Knight Transportation stock price target raised to $52 by Stifel on strong operations

Investing.com - Stifel raised its price target on Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX) to $52.00 from $45.00 on Thursday, while maintaining a Buy rating on the transportation company’s stock. The $7.69 billion market cap company currently trades at $47.39, with analyst targets ranging from $42 to $67.

Knight Transportation reported adjusted third-quarter 2025 earnings per share of $0.32, falling below both the company’s guidance range of $0.36-$0.42 and the consensus estimate of $0.37. The earnings miss was primarily attributed to insurance-related items that reduced adjusted EPS by $0.10. According to InvestingPro, 15 analysts have recently revised their earnings estimates downward, though the company has maintained dividend payments for 22 consecutive years.

The company’s truckload revenue exceeded Stifel’s model by 1%, with better-than-expected yield development partially offsetting slightly softer volumes. The operating ratio miss was attributed to accident claims at U.S. Xpress that occurred before safety alignment initiatives were implemented.

Knight’s less-than-truckload (LTL) revenue grew 21.5% year-over-year, supported by acquisitions and healthy yields. The adjusted operating ratio for this segment outperformed Stifel’s assumption by 300 basis points, reaching 90.6%.

The logistics and intermodal segments both exceeded Stifel’s revenue expectations slightly while delivering operating ratio improvements of over 100 basis points compared to estimates.

In other recent news, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. announced its third-quarter 2025 financial results, showing a mixed performance. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.32, which did not meet the analysts’ expectations of $0.37, resulting in a 13.51% negative surprise. On a positive note, Knight-Swift’s revenue reached $1.93 billion, exceeding the forecasted $1.90 billion and marking a 2.4% year-over-year increase. These financial results highlight the company’s ability to generate higher revenue despite falling short on EPS. Additionally, the earnings announcement led to minor stock fluctuations, although specific price movements are not the focus here. Investors may find it notable that the revenue beat suggests underlying strength in the company’s operations. No analyst upgrades or downgrades were mentioned in connection with these results. These developments provide investors with important insights into Knight-Swift’s financial health and operational performance.

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