American Trust Reduces Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

American Trust lowered its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,769 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,308 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,374,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $581,567,000 after acquiring an additional 22,563 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,826 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,685,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $269,611,000 after buying an additional 105,500 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,446,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $231,416,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $152,589,000 after buying an additional 193,684 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This represents a 10.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $181.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.94, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $219.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $181.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.11.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.