Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $195.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.74% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on JBHT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.83.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 7.1 %

JBHT stock traded down $13.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $172.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,526,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,072. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at $15,092,976.08. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total transaction of $306,450.18. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,579.45. This represents a 16.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.