Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,518 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This trade represents a 10.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total value of $306,450.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 8,314 shares of company stock valued at $1,534,052 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock opened at $180.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.14. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $219.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.55.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.27%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.