Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases New Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 27,031 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,627,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% during the third 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. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Argus upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on 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. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $240.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Brian Webb sold 796 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.11, for a total transaction of $150,531.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,968,459.67. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total transaction of $1,977,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,359,343.36. This trade represents a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,957 shares of company stock worth $5,293,331. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT stock opened at $220.61 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $198.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $220.69.

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 net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. 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% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 28.66%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.