Insider Selling: J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) EVP Sells 331 Shares of Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,019 shares in the company, valued at $906,565.83. This trade represents a 7.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ronald Greer Woodruff also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, January 21st, Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 1,391 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $287,937.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $2.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $225.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,154,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,357. The company has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $229.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $199.48 and its 200-day moving average is $167.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.83.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.66%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $201.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Benchmark upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Vertical Research lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

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.