J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $195.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $174.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $219.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16.

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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.27%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. This represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,579.45. The trade was a 16.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.