J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ (JBHT) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated their neutral rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $164.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna set a $140.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $136.65 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52-week low of $122.79 and a 52-week high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. On average, equities analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the first quarter worth approximately $6,658,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.8% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 12,478 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 624,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,399,000 after acquiring an additional 6,929 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 23.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 65,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,714,000 after acquiring an additional 12,323 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.