Yahoo Finance Knight-Swift (KNX) Rewards Investors With 16.7% Dividend Hike
In a shareholder-friendly move, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. KNX has announced a hike in its dividend payout. KNX’s board of directors has approved a dividend hike of 16.7%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend from 12 cents per share to 14 cents. The raised dividend is anticipated to be paid out on Mar 27, 2023, to all its shareholders of record as of Mar 3, 2023. The move reflects KNX’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns.
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Dividend Yield (TTM)
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. dividend-yield-ttm | Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Quote
Knight-Swift has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, which are encouraging. Last year too (in February 2022), Knight-Swift hiked its dividend by 20% to 12 cents per share (annually: 48 cents).
In 2022, KNX returned $300 million to its shareholders in the form of share repurchases and $78.3 million as dividends. The free cash flow generated during 2022 was $818.71 million. In 2021, the company returned $120.7 million to shareholders in the forms of dividends ($63.5 million) and share buybacks ($57.2 million). Its free cash flow generation supports shareholder-friendly activities. The company generated a free cash flow of $908 million in 2021, up 70.8% year over year.
Dividend-paying stocks provide a solid income stream and have fewer chances of experiencing wild price swings. Dividend stocks like KNX are safe bets for creating wealth, as the payouts generally act as a hedge against economic uncertainty like the current scenario.
KNX’s management’s decision to increase its quarterly dividend payout reflects the company’s commitment toward boosting shareholder value apart from underlining confidence in its business. We believe that such shareholder-friendly initiatives boost investor confidence and positively impact the company’s bottom line.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Currently, Knight-Swift carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector are Copa Holdings, S.A. CPA, Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK and American Airlines AAL. Copa Holdings presently sports a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy), while Alaska Air and American Airlines carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Copa Holdings has an expected earnings growth rate of 31.58% for the current year. CPA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 48.95%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPA’s current-year earnings has improved 9.3% over the past 90 days. Shares of CPA have soared 25.8% over the past six months.
Alaska Air has an expected earnings growth rate of 28.28% for the current year. ALK delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.98%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALK’s current-year earnings has improved 7.1% over the past 90 days. Shares of ALK have soared 12% over the past six months.
AAL has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. AAL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.62%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAL’s current-year earnings has improved 19.3% over the past 90 days. Shares of AAL have gained 12.9% over the past six months.
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Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) : Free Stock Analysis Report