J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Twenty-six analysts collectively rate J.B. Hunt Transport Services a “Moderate Buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $286.30. Ratings include 13 buys, two strong buys, 10 holds and one sell.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.91 versus the $1.71 consensus estimate and revenue of $3.50 billion versus expectations of $3.26 billion. Revenue increased 19.4% year over year.
• J.B. Hunt maintains shareholder support and strong institutional ownership: It paid a quarterly dividend of $0.45, equal to a 0.7% annualized yield, while institutional investors own approximately 74.95% of its stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $286.3043.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $286.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Susquehanna set a $345.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $273.77 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $130.12 and a one year high of $299.76. The company's 50-day moving average is $276.44 and its 200 day moving average is $253.87. The company has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.29. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 25.50%.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 37,492.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,209,198 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,611,738,000 after purchasing an additional 33,120,858 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth approximately $1,833,602,000. State Street Corp grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $592,015,000 after purchasing an additional 272,594 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,982,720 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $843,937,000 after purchasing an additional 41,887 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,755,171 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $729,780,000 after buying an additional 565,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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