Bradley Hicks Sells 4,028 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) insider Bradley Hicks sold 4,028 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.13, for a total transaction of $906,823.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,842,826.35. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $225.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $200.52 and its 200 day moving average is $167.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $229.44. 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 (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has initiated 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JBHT shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Argus raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $214.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research 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, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.05.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,160,000 after acquiring an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $539,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.