J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from “strong buy” to “hold,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $286.30.
• J.B. Hunt reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.91 in EPS versus the $1.71 estimate and $3.50 billion in revenue, up 19.4% year over year.
• Shares opened at $273.05, near their 52-week high of $299.76, while institutional investors own approximately 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on JBHT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $286.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $261.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $299.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $273.05 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $130.12 and a 52 week high of $299.76. The company has a market capitalization of $25.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The business's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 250 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.9% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.7% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,765 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,622 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,827,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. Through its operating segments, the company provides freight transportation, logistics and supply-chain services to customers across North America.

Its principal businesses include intermodal transportation, which combines rail and trucking; dedicated contract services, which provides customized transportation and fleet-management solutions; and integrated capacity solutions, which matches customer freight with available transportation capacity.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.