Short Interest in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Decreases By 16.9%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,990,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the March 15th total of 3,600,000 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stephens decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.20.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded down $2.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.07. The company had a trading volume of 552,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,282. The company has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for 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 expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.4% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $804,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,047 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at about $1,578,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

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.