Demars Financial Group LLC Raises Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 16,964.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 610,059 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 606,484 shares during the quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC owned 0.61% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $104,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JBHT. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 165,200 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $6,145,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 129.5% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,504 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 6,492 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 51,317 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,758,000 after acquiring an additional 11,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JBHT. Stephens decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:JBHT traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $129.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 362,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 938,012. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $200.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. Research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is presently 31.94%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.