NorthRock Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,577 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, purchasing 1,577 shares valued at approximately $226,000 in the second quarter.
• Analysts show a bullish outlook for J.B. Hunt, with price objectives raised by firms like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, suggesting a consensus target price of $165.35 and multiple buy recommendations.
• Insider activity includes EVP Eric McGee acquiring 1,148 shares, indicating confidence in the company's performance ahead.

NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,577 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,600.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.9% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 306 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JBHT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Baird R W raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee purchased 1,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,201.72. This trade represents a 18.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, 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 currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 22.1%

JBHT opened at $169.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.40. The firm's fifty day moving average is $140.63 and its 200 day moving average is $141.03. The stock has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 32.00%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JBHT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.