J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $172.00 to $189.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.48% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $168.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.18.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $206.52 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $208.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total value of $300,592.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 550 shares in the company, valued at $104,109.50. The trade was a 74.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,109 shares of company stock worth $2,688,970 in the last 90 days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% in 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 boosted its stake 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 valued at $110,434,000 after purchasing an additional 635,172 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $91,094,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $358,510,000 after purchasing an additional 416,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Presidio Capital LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,337,000 after purchasing an additional 401,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting J.B. Hunt Transport Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat on EPS and margin improvement — diluted EPS rose sharply year‑over‑year and operating profit increased, supported by stronger cash from operations and reduced capex. This underpins today’s rebound. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets (Truist, Barclays, Stifel and JPMorgan among others), giving additional support to the stock despite mixed top‑line results. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was modestly lower (about a 1.6–2% decline) as intermodal sales softened; the top‑line shortfall was small but notable given industry focus on volume recovery. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company said cost management helped mitigate soft demand — a positive operational signal but one that may only partially offset weaker volumes if the trend persists. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares initially fell intraday (reported ~4%) on the revenue decline despite the EPS beat, showing investor sensitivity to top‑line momentum and intermodal exposure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some red flags: cash & equivalents were lower year‑over‑year and there is notable insider selling activity reported in recent months — factors that could weigh on sentiment if cash trends or insider behavior continue. Read More.

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.