Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Trims Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16.3%, selling 14,985 shares and leaving it with 76,846 shares valued at $11,369,000.
• J.B. Hunt's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.31, missing projections, while revenues remained consistent at $2.93 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 32%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,846 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 14,985 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.08% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $11,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% during the 1st 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 period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,408.1% during the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 213,888 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,502,000 after purchasing an additional 205,360 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 1st quarter valued at $29,497,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after acquiring an additional 195,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 194.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 258,467 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $44,110,000 after acquiring an additional 170,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $143.73. 891,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 989,844. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.28.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 directly owned 946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee bought 1,148 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $140.76 per share, with a total value of $161,592.48. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 7,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,201.72. This represents a 18.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down previously from $175.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

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.