J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from “hold” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $286.30.
• J.B. Hunt reported quarterly EPS of $1.91, exceeding the $1.71 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $3.50 billion and rose 19.4% year over year.
• JBHT opened at $270.45, with a market capitalization of approximately $25.4 billion; institutional investors own about 74.95% of the company’s outstanding shares.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

JBHT has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Susquehanna set a $345.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT stock opened at $270.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.29. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.48.

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

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. 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 purchasing an additional 6,668 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $64,160,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth approximately $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 583 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. 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 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.

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