Legal & General Group Plc Invests $100.90 Million in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 348,628 J.B. Hunt shares valued at approximately $100.9 million, representing about 0.37% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.95% of JBHT.
• J.B. Hunt reported quarterly earnings of $1.91 per share, beating estimates of $1.71, while revenue rose 19.4% year over year to $3.50 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.30; the company also pays a $0.45 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.7%.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 348,628 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $100,903,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.37% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Summitry LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.9% during the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,765 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,622 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $263.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.44. The stock has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.12 and a 12 month high of $299.76.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.50%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total transaction of $200,446.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $225,252.70. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. This represents a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.30.

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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