J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has received an average consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from twenty-two research firms, with target prices ranging from $135 to $180.
• Despite reporting a miss in EPS estimates for the last quarter, the company’s revenue matched analyst expectations, indicating steady performance.
• Recently, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44, providing a dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 32%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.9048.

JBHT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $166.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $159.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,763.62. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee purchased 1,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,201.72. The trade was a 18.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 15,345 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,619,000 after buying an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 795,855 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $135,821,000 after purchasing an additional 65,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 118,391 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $20,205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of JBHT stock traded up $1.47 on Tuesday, reaching $145.79. 1,211,660 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,040,883. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.69. The stock has a market cap of $14.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $122.79 and a one year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 4.59%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.