J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Upgraded by Susquehanna to Positive Rating

Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) from a neutral rating to a positive rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $200.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.06.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $175.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.15 and a 200-day moving average of $172.33. The company has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total transaction of $306,450.18. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,579.45. This trade represents a 16.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.