Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Invests $760,000 in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,453 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. National Pension Service purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 140.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $139.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,727,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 987,133. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.79 and a twelve month high of $200.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.22.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 31.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.