KeyBanc Downgrades Knight Transportation (KNX) to Hold; Being More Selective in Trucking Sector

KeyBanc downgraded Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) from Buy to Hold.

Analyst, Todd C. Fowler, said, "We are more selective with our investment recommendations on truckload carriers in our coverage as recent checks suggest: 1) stable but low growth in freight activity quarter-to-date; and 2) limited upside to our low-to-mid-single-digit pricing assumptions. Our prior framework favored growth oriented carriers and/or names with company-specific margin opportunity; however, based on recent checks and macro data-points, we believe organic fleet expansion could be more challenging near term. Reflecting this change and current valuation, we are downgrading shares of Knight Transportation to HOLD; we maintain our BUY-ratings on Werner Enterprises (Nasdaq: WERN) and Celadon Group (NYSE: CGI) reflecting company-specific margin opportunities."

"There is no change to our HOLD-ratings on Heartland Express (Nasdaq: HTLD) or Marten Transportation (Nasdaq: MRTN); however, their slightly more defensive freight profiles could become more attractive if freight activity weakens more notably from current levels. There is no change to our estimates at this time as recent stabilization in diesel offsets tweaks to our utilization and pricing estimates; we will revisit our estimates pending better visibility into June."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Knight Transportation click here. For more ratings news on Knight Transportation click here.

Shares of Knight Transportation closed at $16.46 yesterday.

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