J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.20.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:JBHT traded up $1.22 on Wednesday, reaching $130.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,115,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,131. The firm has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.57.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.94%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 1.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter worth about $1,746,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 10,361 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,775 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,628 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,645 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

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.