Bank of America Cuts J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target to $153.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $171.00 to $153.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

JBHT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $163.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $159.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.14.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.4%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $135.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The company has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $144.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.01.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 32.00%.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Eric Mcgee bought 1,148 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,201.72. This represents a 18.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 946 shares in the company, valued at $143,763.62. This trade represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,902 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 126.2% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 11,165 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.