J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 24 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $236.17.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.49 versus the $1.45 estimate and revenue of $3.06 billion, up 4.6% year over year.
• J.B. Hunt also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, while recent insider transactions showed executives sold shares and hedge funds continue to hold a large stake in the company.

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $236.1739.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JBHT. Weiss Ratings cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $248.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, May 11th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $271.22 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $258.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $130.12 and a twelve month high of $293.54. The stock has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total value of $318,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,002,802. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total transaction of $1,017,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,213,045.04. The trade was a 31.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 18,119 shares of company stock worth $4,736,095 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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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