J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $170.00 to $220.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as high as $204.63 and last traded at $204.28, with a volume of 106072 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $202.02.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $172.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.90.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.11, for a total value of $150,531.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,968,459.67. This represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.04, for a total value of $380,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,499 shares in the company, valued at $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 worth $2,688,970 in the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Certuity LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $183.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.50%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.