Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 193,684 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 953,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 193,684 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.92% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $152,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 382.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on JBHT. Benchmark cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $181.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.88.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.3 %

JBHT opened at $169.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.16.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.