Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 45,558 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, buying 45,558 shares worth about $8.85 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions, and 74.95% of J.B. Hunt’s stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• J.B. Hunt reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.49 on revenue of $3.06 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $228.17.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 45,558 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $8,854,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.2% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,829 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $16,883,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,627,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,003,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145.6% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,689 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 12,857 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total value of $519,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,862,800. This trade represents a 11.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total value of $318,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,002,802. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,154 shares of company stock valued at $4,112,450 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on JBHT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $258.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $264.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $230.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.91.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.86%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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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