J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives $200.05 Consensus PT from Analysts

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $200.0455.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on JBHT shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $214.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.1%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $205.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $195.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $212.00.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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

In other news, CAO John Kuhlow sold 3,225 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.76, for a total value of $579,726.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,957.20. This trade represents a 19.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 3,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total transaction of $823,499.47. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,585,255.40. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,957 shares of company stock valued at $3,315,491. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.