Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $147.00 to $172.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 11.39% from the stock’s current price.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $194.10 on Tuesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $204.43. The company has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $171.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.79.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Kuhlow sold 3,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.76, for a total transaction of $579,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,957.20. This trade represents a 19.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 2,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.04, for a total transaction of $380,080.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,029.96. This trade represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,109 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,970 in the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 635,172 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $91,094,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $358,510,000 after purchasing an additional 416,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Presidio Capital LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% in the second quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,337,000 after buying an additional 401,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.