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Knight-Swift (KNX) Rewards Investors With 14.2% Dividend Hike

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In a shareholder-friendly move, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX - Free Report) announced a hike in its dividend payout. KNX’s board of directors approved a dividend hike of 14.2%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend from 14 cents per share to 16 cents. The raised dividend is anticipated to be paid out on Mar 25, 2024, to all its shareholders of record as of Mar 8, 2024.

The move reflects KNX’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns. Notably, KNX has raised its quarterly dividend five times in the past five years for a 167% overall increase.

Knight-Swift has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, which are encouraging. Last year (in February 2023), Knight-Swift hiked its dividend by 16.7% to 14 cents per share (annually: 56 cents). In February 2022, Knight-Swift hiked its dividend by 20% to 12 cents per share (annually: 48 cents).

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 to boosting shareholder value apart from underlining confidence in its business. We believe such shareholder-friendly initiatives boost investor confidence and positively impact this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock bottom line.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

KNX is not the only player from the Zacks Transportation sector that has rewarded its shareholders with dividend payouts or share buyback programs.

To name a few, on Jan 26, 2024, GATX Corporation (GATX - Free Report) announced a hike in its dividend payout. GATX’s board of directors announced a dividend hike of almost 5.5%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend from 55 cents per share to 58 cents. The raised dividend will be paid out on Mar 31, 2024, to all its shareholders of record as of Mar 1, 2024. The move reflects GATX’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns. GATX, which has been paying regular dividends since 1919, holds an impressive record with respect to dividends. Notably, 2024 marks the 106th consecutive year of GATX paying out dividends.  

On Jan 23, 2024, the Canadian National Railway Company’s (CNI - Free Report) board of directors approved a 7% hike in the 2024 dividendon the company's common shares outstanding and the repurchase of its shares per a new normal course issuer bid (Bid).

Concurrent with the fourth quarter of 2023 earnings release, on Jan 19, 2024, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s (JBHT - Free Report) board of directors approved a dividend hike of 2%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend from 42 cents per share to 43 cents. The raised dividend will be paid out on Feb 23, 2024, to all its shareholders of record as of Feb 9, 2024.

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