J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $228.1739.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JBHT. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Benchmark boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total value of $2,002,040.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $6,281,125.62. The trade was a 24.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total value of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,752.80. The trade was a 30.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,916 shares of company stock worth $4,109,634. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,160,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $279.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $239.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $130.12 and a 52 week high of $279.92.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

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.