Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Invests $1.23 Million in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services initiated a $1.23 million position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter by purchasing 4,249 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.95% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with J.B. Hunt receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $286.30. Recent targets range as high as $320.
• J.B. Hunt exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.91 in EPS and $3.50 billion in revenue, with revenue up 19.4% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,249 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 583 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on JBHT. 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.0%

JBHT stock opened at $267.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $299.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $275.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.38. The firm has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.94, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.29.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. Through its operating segments, the company provides freight transportation, logistics and supply-chain services to customers across North America.

Its principal businesses include intermodal transportation, which combines rail and trucking; dedicated contract services, which provides customized transportation and fleet-management solutions; and integrated capacity solutions, which matches customer freight with available transportation capacity.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JBHT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.