J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Insider Selling

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $151.60 and last traded at $153.98, with a volume of 45420 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $154.18.

Specifically, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped 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 research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.84.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.04. The stock has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during 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 company’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.