Cambiar Investors LLC Lowers Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Cambiar Investors LLC lessened its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,969 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 20,091 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $4,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eldred Rock Partners LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.9% during the third quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC now owns 88,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,815,000 after purchasing an additional 9,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 777.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,785,000 after purchasing an additional 170,264 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 6,344 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 208,655 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,963,000 after buying an additional 40,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 113,935 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,390,000 after buying an additional 3,121 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.1%

JBHT opened at $202.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.83. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $122.79 and a one year high of $212.00. The company has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.59.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.66%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JBHT. Evercore ISI set a $222.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $201.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Truist Financial increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 3,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total value of $823,499.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,580 shares in the company, valued at $5,585,255.40. This represents a 12.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total value of $300,592.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,109.50. The trade was a 74.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 16,957 shares of company stock valued at $3,315,491 over the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.