J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

JBHT has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $276.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.79, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $237.42 and a 200-day moving average of $214.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $277.85.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $254,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,973,462.52. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total transaction of $2,002,040.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $6,281,125.62. This represents a 24.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,916 shares of company stock valued at $4,109,634. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $258,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,587,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 75,567.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,006,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $195,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,047 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,434,000 after purchasing an additional 635,172 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 272.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $145,245,000 after purchasing an additional 546,880 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.