J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $184.05.

JBHT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $146.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $162.28 and its 200 day moving average is $172.08. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12 month low of $144.34 and a 12 month high of $200.40. The company has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% 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.