J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Director Sells $254,280.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Director James Thompson sold 1,000 shares on April 21 at an average price of $254.28 for $254,280, reducing his holdings by 4.86% to 19,559 shares; the transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Market move and valuation: Shares traded down about 1.6% to $247.03 mid-day, with a market cap of $23.37 billion and a P/E of 38.24, trading near a 52-week high of $256.18.
• Earnings beat and dividend bump: J.B. Hunt beat quarterly estimates with $1.49 EPS (vs. $1.45 expected) and revenue of $3.06B (up 4.6% year-over-year), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.45 ($1.80 annual, ~0.7% yield); analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $227.04 target.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) Director James Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total value of $254,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,973,462.52. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $4.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $247.03. 971,121 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,043,651. The firm has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.05 and a 52-week high of $256.18. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $219.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $592,015,000 after acquiring an additional 272,594 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,940,833 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $765,862,000 after purchasing an additional 84,149 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,755,171 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $729,780,000 after purchasing an additional 565,605 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $358,510,000 after purchasing an additional 416,167 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,612,262 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $216,317,000 after purchasing an additional 82,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on JBHT. TD Cowen lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Argus set a $285.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.04.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.

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