J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $215.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on JBHT. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $170.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $234.00 to $211.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $218.00 to $199.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird restated an outperform rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $173.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $194.56.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $167.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $160.07 and a one year high of $219.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.27). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.79, for a total transaction of $159,689.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,090.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director Patrick J. Ottensmeyer acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $202.99 per share, with a total value of $1,014,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,950. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.79, for a total transaction of $159,689.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,090.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,432 shares of company stock valued at $4,309,687 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 161 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 104.8% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 170 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors 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.