J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Bought by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 110.3%, owning 10,643 shares valued at $1,575,000 after additional purchases in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Allworth Financial LP and NBC Securities Inc., made significant changes to their positions in J.B. Hunt, with NBC Securities increasing its stake by an astounding 112,900%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $164.90 for J.B. Hunt stock, with ratings ranging from "strong buy" to "hold" by various financial institutions.

Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 110.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,643 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,583 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $718,015,000 after purchasing an additional 616,986 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16,964.6% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 610,059 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $104,113,000 after purchasing an additional 606,484 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,408.1% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 213,888 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $36,502,000 after purchasing an additional 205,360 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after buying an additional 195,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 194.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 258,467 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $44,110,000 after buying an additional 170,561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $163.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.90.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total transaction of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 946 shares in the company, valued at $143,763.62. This trade represents a 51.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee purchased 1,148 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction 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. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $144.02. The company had a trading volume of 151,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,321. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company's fifty day moving average price is $145.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.27. The company has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.29.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The company's revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.00%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.