J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $190.11.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JBHT. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,550.50. This trade represents a 35.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the 3rd 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. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 4.0 %

JBHT opened at $170.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

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.