J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 22.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 656 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.2% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 731 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $151.88 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.84. The company has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.29. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 4.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Stephens dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.43.

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.