William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,955 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth $1,018,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth $65,000. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the second quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 163,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,194,000 after buying an additional 3,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT opened at $167.40 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.83. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.12 and a 52-week high of $219.51. The company has a market cap of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 27.30%.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director Persio V. Lisboa acquired 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $163.47 per share, with a total value of $98,082.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,594 shares in the company, valued at $587,511.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $163.47 per share, with a total value of $98,082.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,594 shares in the company, valued at $587,511.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on JBHT. Loop Capital lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $181.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $191.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.88.

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.