Evercore ISI Cuts J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target to $202.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price target dropped by Evercore ISI from $207.00 to $202.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.26% from the stock’s previous close.

JBHT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.83.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT stock traded down $13.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.27. 835,878 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 810,927. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $153.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $180.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.76. The stock has a market cap of $17.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,275. The trade was a 10.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the business’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 directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $152,589,000 after purchasing an additional 193,684 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,035,000 after acquiring an additional 184,601 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,384.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 156,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,297,000 after acquiring an additional 149,815 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,689,000 after purchasing an additional 134,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 282.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 173,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,740,000 after purchasing an additional 128,283 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.