Norges Bank Makes New $200.59 Million Investment in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,032,144 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,587,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $1,114,000. National Pension Service grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,844 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $254,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,973,462.52. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,752.80. This represents a 30.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,916 shares of company stock valued at $4,109,634 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $275.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.66, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $279.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.