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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 2.14% from the stock’s current price.

JBHT has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $172.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.68.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock opened at $204.38 on Thursday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $209.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $188.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.81. The company has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 1.75 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.18%. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Albert Brad Delco sold 1,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total value of $179,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 7,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,264,500.22. The trade was a 12.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,109 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,970. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and margin improvement — JBHT reported EPS above Street estimates and management cited cost reductions that boosted operating profit and net income year‑over‑year, which supports near‑term earnings visibility. J.B. Hunt Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Improve Year Over Year
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation strengthened and capex moderated — operating cash flow rose materially while capital spending was down versus prior year, improving free‑cash‑flow dynamics that investors often favor. Q4 earnings & cash flow details
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views mixed but some lifts to sentiment — several firms have raised price targets this week (e.g., Truist) and some analysts highlight JBHT’s positioning versus peers, tempering the sell‑side reaction. Analyst ratings and price targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry context: freight demand soft — commentators note trucking peers face weak freight volumes, but JBHT is identified as relatively well‑positioned to navigate the cycle. That limits downside but keeps growth constrained. 3 Truck Stocks Positioned to Navigate Industry Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue decline and intermodal weakness pressured the stock — Q4 revenue fell ~1.6% (reported as a ~2% decline in coverage) and lower intermodal volumes were flagged, triggering investor concern about demand sustainability. The share price reacted negatively after the release. J.B. Hunt Fourth-Quarter Revenue Falls on Lower Intermodal Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after the mixed print — headlines and intraday trading showed a sell‑off as investors prioritized the revenue miss and soft demand over the EPS beat. Shares fall after Q4 revenue decline
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling disclosed in filings — recent insider sales were reported in the quarter, which some investors interpret as a modest negative signal. Insider trading and holdings data

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.