J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives $162.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JBHT. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $196.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $145.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $122.79 and a twelve month high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 731 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.