J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.20.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $130.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $145.18 and its 200 day moving average is $166.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,390,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $578,572,000 after purchasing an additional 15,476 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,124,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $362,554,000 after buying an additional 104,019 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $340,049,000 after acquiring an additional 8,968 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,319,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $225,209,000 after acquiring an additional 8,725 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $215,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,295 shares during 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 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.