Knight-Swift shares off; BofA downgrades due to weather, tariffs

Shares in Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings KNX.N down 2.2%, hitting lowest level since Feb. 2021; BofA downgraded the stock, cut EPS view for Q1, Q2 citing Q1 weather and late quarter "shipper paralysis given lack of freight flows surrounding tariffs"

BofA analyst Ken Hoexter cut rating of the trucking company to 'neutral' from 'buy' and cut price objective to $46 from $66

Hoexter also slashed his 1Q25 EPS estimate 35% to $0.20 and cut his Q2 est 20% to $0.38/shr, which he notes is below KNX's own target range off $0.29-$0.33 for Q1 and its $0.46-$0.50 range for Q2 vs Street's $0.30 Q1 est, Q2 est of $0.46

And with estimates under pressure Hoexter also reduced valuation target to 28x revised 2025 EPS estimate down from previous multiple target of 33x

KNX last traded at $42.54 after touching low of $42.34

Median PT for stock is $63, down from $64 month ago, as per LSEG, which shows 22 analyst ratings: 4 'strong buy,' 8 'buy,' 9 'hold' 1 'sell'

KNX down 19.8% YTD after falling 8% in 2024 vs 17% drop YTD for S&P 400 ground transportation index .SPMDCRAR after 6% gain in 2024