Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Bank of America from $195.00 to $206.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 19.45% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.67.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $172.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $153.12 and a twelve month high of $219.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.85.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 64.3% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 4,268 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 537 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $368,000. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 13,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.