Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Purchases 2,722 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 76,135 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,722 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $12,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.6% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,133 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 820 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 3.1 %

JBHT stock opened at $146.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.34 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.08.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.65%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.