J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $205.56.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 19th. Stephens lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,382,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,021,243.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,382,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,021,243.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Kuhlow sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $745,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,381. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,432 shares of company stock worth $4,309,687 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 161 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 104.8% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 170 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 69.1% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $185.47 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $164.39 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 18.40% and a net margin of 5.68%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.68%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.