Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 9,250 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 449,370 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $87,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,457,000 after buying an additional 1,447,993 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,434,000 after buying an additional 635,172 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $358,510,000 after buying an additional 416,167 shares in the last quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% during the second quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,337,000 after acquiring an additional 401,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $592,015,000 after acquiring an additional 272,594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $254,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,462.52. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total transaction of $1,017,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,045.04. This represents a 31.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,510 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,410. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $262.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $226.22 and a 200 day moving average of $207.40. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.12 and a 52 week high of $263.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.