Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has raised its price target for J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $168.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 1.73% from the company's last closing price.
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services reported earnings of $1.76 per share, surpassing estimates, but noted a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.5%.
• Institutional ownership in J.B. Hunt Transport Services stands at 74.95%, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions in the company over recent quarters.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $155.00 to $168.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the transportation company's stock. Evercore ISI's target price would suggest a potential upside of 1.73% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on JBHT. UBS Group set a $174.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $150.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.38.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 19.0%

JBHT traded up $26.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $165.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,316,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,670. The company has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.05 and a 200-day moving average of $140.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 946 shares in the company, valued at $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee bought 1,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $140.76 per share, with a total value of $161,592.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,201.72. This represents a 18.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $258,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,993 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,094,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $718,015,000 after purchasing an additional 616,986 shares during the last quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% during the second quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $96,337,000 after purchasing an additional 401,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 178.9% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 428,704 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $61,562,000 after purchasing an additional 275,017 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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