Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 5,256 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 141.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,256 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $718,015,000 after acquiring an additional 616,986 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter valued at about $29,497,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after acquiring an additional 195,873 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,408,057 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $208,322,000 after acquiring an additional 144,666 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13,668.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 140,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $208,380,000 after acquiring an additional 139,825 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $159.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target (down from $175.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.14.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $135.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.34 and a 200-day moving average of $143.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.00%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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

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.