Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 5,280 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.3%

JBHT opened at $205.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $215.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $236.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on JBHT. Barclays boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 4,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.13, for a total value of $906,823.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,842,826.35. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Kuhlow sold 1,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.68, for a total transaction of $225,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,046,668.08. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,656,495. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.