Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,671,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after buying an additional 6,668 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,160,000 after acquiring an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 281.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 18,551 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total value of $300,592.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,109.50. This trade represents a 74.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $613,584.86. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 90,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,241,526.46. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,147 shares of company stock valued at $3,302,555. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT opened at $210.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $191.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.34. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $212.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 28.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, January 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.