Caprock Group LLC Acquires Shares of 12,337 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,789,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $592,015,000 after purchasing an additional 272,594 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,072,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $296,383,000 after buying an additional 11,637 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Park Presidio Capital LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% during the second quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,337,000 after buying an additional 401,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth approximately $91,094,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $221.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 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 $234.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $205.53 and its 200 day moving average is $170.65.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has approved 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, insider Bradley W. 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 sale, the insider directly owned 30,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,842,826.35. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,359,343.36. The trade was a 45.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,316 shares of company stock valued at $6,727,749. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Vertical Research downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $222.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research reissued 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.