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

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services to $320 from $250 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 12.95% upside from the prior close.
• The stock was trading up 1.2% at $283.31, near its 52-week high of $284.04, and well above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• J.B. Hunt recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $1.49 EPS on $3.06 billion in revenue; analysts currently expect 7.27 EPS for the full fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from $250.00 to $320.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the transportation company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.95% from the stock's previous close.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $248.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.83.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $283.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of 43.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1 year low of $130.12 and a 1 year high of $284.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total value of $318,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,002,802. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $254,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,973,462.52. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 15,916 shares of company stock valued at $4,109,634 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,160,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth about $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 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 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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