Principal Securities Inc. Trims Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,786 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,387 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $646,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on 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. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.11.

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

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $168.54 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $214.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $172.66 and a 200-day moving average of $174.74. The company has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. 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 will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

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.