Brokerages Set J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Target Price at $162.00

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $162.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $164.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna set a $140.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 91,847 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 37.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 236,177 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $40,698,000 after buying an additional 64,380 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,725 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $17,013,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,545,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $253,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $1.61 on Friday, reaching $137.42. 793,098 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 986,472. The firm's 50 day moving average is $138.67 and its 200-day moving average is $161.60. 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 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is currently 31.94%.

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.