Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys New Shares in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,357 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $215,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,295 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth $146,618,000. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16,964.6% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 610,059 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $104,113,000 after buying an additional 606,484 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $163,237,000 after buying an additional 503,324 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,408.1% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 213,888 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,502,000 after buying an additional 205,360 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $196.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $164.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.65.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs acquired 1,529 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $142.81 on Thursday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $200.40. The company's 50-day moving average is $138.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $14.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.94%.

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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