Benchmark Issues Positive Forecast for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Benchmark raised its price target on J.B. Hunt to $230 (from $220) and reiterated a "buy" rating, which translates to only about a 1.1% upside from the stock's current price.
• J.B. Hunt beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.90 vs. $1.81) with revenue of $3.10B roughly in line but down 1.6% year-over-year, and analysts expect about 6.37 EPS for the current year.
• Insiders sold 25,945 shares totaling roughly $5.66M over the past three months while institutional investors hold about 75% of the stock, signaling high institutional ownership amid recent insider selling.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Benchmark's target price would suggest a potential upside of 1.07% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on JBHT. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $214.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $222.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Vertical Research cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.91.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT stock opened at $227.57 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $216.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52-week low of $122.79 and a 52-week high of $236.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 1,391 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $287,937.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $831,933. The trade was a 25.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total value of $1,977,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,359,343.36. This trade represents a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,945 shares of company stock worth $5,656,495 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% during 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 buying an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,160,000 after buying an additional 13,729 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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