J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT Stock Position Increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 416,167 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.81% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $358,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in 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 buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $223.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $207.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.51. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $234.82.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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 paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 4,028 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total value of $1,977,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,359,343.36. This represents a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,316 shares of company stock worth $6,727,749. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Vertical Research cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.05.

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.