J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Short Interest Update

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,640,000 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the April 30th total of 3,240,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reduced their target price 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. Bank of America increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.90.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs bought 1,529 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,600.0% in the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $140.11. The company had a trading volume of 790,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,142. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $137.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.92. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. The company 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 return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 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 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.94%.

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.