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

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $172.00 to $189.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as high as $208.13 and last traded at $206.1810, with a volume of 100299 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $206.33.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total transaction of $300,592.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 550 shares in the company, valued at $104,109.50. This represents a 74.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Albert Brad Delco sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total transaction of $179,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 7,043 shares in the company, valued at $1,264,500.22. This represents a 12.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,109 shares of company stock worth $2,688,970 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew 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 buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.3%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.