J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from “buy” to “hold”, even as the broader analyst consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $228.17.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were solid, with EPS of $1.49 beating estimates and revenue of $3.06 billion also topping expectations, while revenue rose 4.6% year over year.
• Shares traded near their 52-week high at $276.43, and insiders recently sold stock, including EVP sales that reduced their holdings by about 30% to 31%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

JBHT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $248.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock opened at $276.43 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $237.42 and its 200-day moving average is $214.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $130.12 and a twelve month high of $277.85.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,752.80. This represents a 30.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total value of $1,017,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,213,045.04. This trade represents a 31.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,916 shares of company stock worth $4,109,634. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $592,015,000 after purchasing an additional 272,594 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,982,720 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $843,937,000 after purchasing an additional 41,887 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 565,605 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $358,510,000 after acquiring an additional 416,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,612,262 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $216,317,000 after acquiring an additional 82,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

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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