J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT Stake Lessened by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC significantly reduced its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 98.9% during the second quarter, holding only 2,050 shares valued at approximately $294,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in J.B. Hunt, with Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raising its holdings by 13.2% and Farther Finance Advisors LLC by 38.6% in recent quarters.
• J.B. Hunt's stock recently saw a decline of 3.9%, with analysts noting a mixed outlook and a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $160.00.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC cut its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 98.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,050 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 179,101 shares during the period. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.2% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 731 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.3% during the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 4,697 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.1% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,495 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee bought 1,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,763.62. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on JBHT. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $157.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $158.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped 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 research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.9%

JBHT stock opened at $137.09 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.00%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.

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