J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 445,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,311 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.43% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $71,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on JBHT shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $181.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $191.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.88.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT opened at $169.01 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results 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). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 27.30%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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

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.