David Keefauver Sells 703 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: J.B. Hunt EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares at an average price of $285.13, totaling about $200,446. After the transaction, he still held 790 shares, and his ownership fell by 47.09%.
• Stock and earnings strength: JBHT rose 0.9% to $287.44, near its 52-week high of $289.95. The company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, with revenue up 4.6% year over year.
• Analyst and dividend backdrop: Wall Street sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $233.83, though some firms have raised targets as high as $310. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, or $1.80 annually.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares in the company, valued at $225,252.70. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:JBHT traded up $2.49 on Monday, reaching $287.44. 494,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,002,526. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.37, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.12 and a 12 month high of $289.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $245.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.46.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus set a $285.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.83.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $258,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth $200,587,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 75,567.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,006,377 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $195,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,047 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $110,434,000 after purchasing an additional 635,172 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 272.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,377 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $145,245,000 after buying an additional 546,880 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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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