J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Announces $0.44 Quarterly Dividend

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the transportation company on Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a dividend payout ratio of 25.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect J.B. Hunt Transport Services to earn $7.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.0%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, reaching $148.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,100,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,094,878. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $122.79 and a one year high of $200.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $14.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $144.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.95.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 4.59%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Susquehanna upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $166.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.90.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total transaction of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $64,160,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,314,000 after buying an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.