Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has made a new investment of approximately $944,000 in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, acquiring 6,380 shares of the transportation company.
• J.B. Hunt reported a Q2 EPS of $1.31, missing analysts' expectations of $1.34, with revenue remaining flat at $2.93 billion compared to the previous year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,380 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $944,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the first quarter worth about $583,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,411 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 165.7% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 114,118 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,884,000 after buying an additional 71,175 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.8% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,964 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 104.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,319 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 8,839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.8%

JBHT traded up $2.50 during trading on Monday, reaching $142.06. The company had a trading volume of 904,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,142,395. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $145.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.84. The company has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.29.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 4.59%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is 32.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 946 shares in the company, valued at $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.