J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Upgraded at Citizens Jmp

Key Points

• Citizens JMP upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from “market perform” to “market outperform” and set a $300 price target, implying 26.73% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target price of $285.92, despite differing views from firms including Morgan Stanley and Barclays.
• J.B. Hunt exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.91 in EPS versus $1.71 expected and $3.50 billion in revenue, up 19.4% year over year; institutional investors own nearly 75% of the stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citizens Jmp from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $300.00 price target on the transportation company's stock. Citizens Jmp's target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.73% from the company's previous close.

JBHT has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $320.00 to $290.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Benchmark upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. 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 research report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.92.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $236.73 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $273.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $130.12 and a twelve month high of $299.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.29.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,833,602,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $891,349,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,982,720 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $843,937,000 after purchasing an additional 41,887 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 64.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,056,398 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $305,753,000 after buying an additional 414,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth $287,581,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Here are the key news stories impacting J.B. Hunt Transport Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo maintained an “overweight” rating, although it lowered its price target from $335 to $305. The revised target still implies substantial upside from the recent trading level. Wells Fargo price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: J.B. Hunt’s warning came during a Morgan Stanley conference, providing investors with updated management commentary rather than a formal quarterly earnings report. Analysts and investors are reassessing forecasts ahead of the results. Morgan Stanley conference transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects third-quarter earnings to fall 5% to 10%, citing higher fuel prices and cost pressures. The outlook raised concerns that diesel inflation will reduce margins and profitability across J.B. Hunt’s transportation businesses. CNBC earnings warning
• Negative Sentiment: The fuel-cost warning pressured other trucking stocks as well, suggesting investors view the issue as an industry-wide risk rather than a problem limited to J.B. Hunt. Transportation sector reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities-law violations involving J.B. Hunt, adding legal and headline risk for shareholders. Zacks also downgraded the stock from “strong buy” to “hold.” Rosen Law Firm investigation

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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