Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Increases Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JBHT. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,578,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $566,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,826 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,040 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,861,000 after buying an additional 3,910 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $149.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.00 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.69.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.