Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $6.08 Million Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina reduced its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,638 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $6,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $137.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.05 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.19.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted 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). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.65%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $158.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.55.

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.