J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.45 on February 20th

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the transportation company on Friday, February 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This is a 2.3% increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a payout ratio of 25.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect J.B. Hunt Transport Services to earn $7.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.0%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $206.75 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $212.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.24 and a 200 day moving average of $163.74.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,192,944. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $613,584.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 90,318 shares in the company, valued at $18,241,526.46. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,457 shares of company stock valued at $4,413,991 in the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Certuity LLC boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.0% during the third quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.