Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 4,921 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.9% in the first quarter, buying 4,921 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 87,985 shares worth about $18.6 million.
• J.B. Hunt reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.91 versus the $1.71 estimate and revenue of $3.50 billion versus $3.26 billion expected. Revenue rose 19.4% year over year.
• Despite strong fundamentals, insider selling has been notable, with executives selling 15,847 shares worth about $4.16 million over the last three months. Analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $286.30.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,985 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,921 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $18,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,809 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $11,712,000 after acquiring an additional 17,839 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $539,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,684 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,849 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 201,839 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,225,000 after purchasing an additional 8,270 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total value of $1,017,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,696 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,045.04. The trade was a 31.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total value of $2,002,040.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,281,125.62. The trade was a 24.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,847 shares of company stock worth $4,162,861 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $292.24 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.29. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.12 and a 52-week high of $299.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $286.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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