J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Research Coverage Started at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $167.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on JBHT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.84.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $163.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $170.09 and a 200-day moving average of $174.43. The company has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $203.02.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 292.7% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,891,000 after buying an additional 16,992 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $14,655,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,799 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 42,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,316,000 after acquiring an additional 2,729 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.