HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 4,043 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 71.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,043 additional shares and bringing its total to 9,684 shares worth about $1.88 million.
• J.B. Hunt reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.49 versus $1.45 expected and revenue of $3.06 billion, up 4.6% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on JBHT, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.17, though several firms recently adjusted targets upward.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 71.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,684 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $258,457,000 after buying an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 75,567.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,006,377 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $195,580,000 after buying an additional 1,005,047 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $110,434,000 after buying an additional 635,172 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $358,510,000 after buying an additional 416,167 shares during the period. Finally, Park Presidio Capital LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% in the 2nd quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $96,337,000 after buying an additional 401,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total transaction of $318,954.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,002,802. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total value of $516,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,752.80. This represents a 30.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,916 shares of company stock worth $4,109,634. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of JBHT opened at $279.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $130.12 and a one year high of $279.92. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $239.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.18.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus set a $285.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.17.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.

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