J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $265.36 and last traded at $263.32, with a volume of 56558 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $258.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Argus set a $285.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $234.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 42.19, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.28.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total transaction of $2,002,040.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,281,125.62. This represents a 24.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total transaction of $318,954.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares in the company, valued at $23,002,802. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,154 shares of company stock worth $4,628,850 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,883,000 after acquiring an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,627,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $433,000. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,003,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 12,857 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.