Knight Transportation stock rating reiterated at Buy by Benchmark

Published 25/07/2025, 06:04
Knight Transportation stock rating reiterated at Buy by Benchmark

Investing.com - Benchmark has reiterated its Buy rating and $55.00 price target on Knight Transportation (NYSE:KNX), a transportation company with a market capitalization of $7.4 billion, following the company’s second-quarter 2025 results. According to InvestingPro data, analyst targets for the stock range from $42 to $68, suggesting potential upside from current levels.

Knight Transportation reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.35 for the second quarter, exceeding Benchmark’s estimate of $0.32 and the FactSet consensus of $0.33. The company, which has maintained consistent profitability with a gross margin of 24.1%, saw all segments except Intermodal perform in-line or above Benchmark’s operating income expectations. InvestingPro analysis shows the company has maintained dividend payments for 22 consecutive years, with a current dividend yield of 1.58%.

The Truckload segment experienced mix changes that put more pressure on revenue per mile than anticipated, but still delivered improved operating income and margins that exceeded Benchmark’s estimates. The company successfully leveraged cost initiatives and the flexibility of its truckload model to overcome the lack of a normal seasonal build. With total revenue of $7.4 billion in the last twelve months, Knight Transportation maintains a solid market position despite challenging conditions.

Knight Transportation provided third-quarter guidance of $0.36 to $0.42 per share, aligning with Benchmark’s estimate of $0.39 and the FactSet consensus. The guidance assumes current conditions remain fairly stable with some seasonality, with management noting that July began with normal seasonal weakness but has recently shown more strength than anticipated.

Benchmark analyst Christopher Kuhn expressed satisfaction with Knight’s core operating performance, particularly noting that the earnings beat came despite a lower-than-expected gain on sale in the second quarter.

In other recent news, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. announced its Q2 2025 financial results, reporting a stronger-than-expected performance in earnings per share (EPS). The company achieved an adjusted EPS of $0.35, exceeding analysts’ projections of $0.33, which represents a 6.06% positive surprise. Despite this earnings success, Knight-Swift’s revenue slightly missed expectations, coming in at $1.86 billion compared to the anticipated $1.87 billion. These developments highlight a mixed financial outcome for the company, with earnings outperforming forecasts while revenue fell short. The earnings report is part of the company’s recent developments and provides insight into its financial health. Investors and analysts will likely consider these results when evaluating the company’s future prospects.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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