J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $192.29.

JBHT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $199.00 to $191.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $204.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $234.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.6 %

JBHT stock opened at $157.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $153.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.84 and a 200-day moving average of $186.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.31). The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 5.25%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.30%.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO John N. Roberts bought 6,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $161.06 per share, with a total value of $998,572.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 313,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,565,592.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 104.8% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 170 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth $34,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the first quarter worth $40,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 99.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 267 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 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.