J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives Average 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 eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $192.11.

Several research analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth $248,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 126,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth $218,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,955 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 2.0 %

JBHT stock opened at $174.29 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.77 and a 200-day moving average of $173.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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 0.99%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 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.