Jones Financial Companies Lllp Grows Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 39.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,206 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,303 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $7,815,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $828,000. Finally, National Pension Service purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $149.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.29 and a 1 year high of $200.53.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JBHT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.60.

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.