J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by analysts at Barclays from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Barclays's price objective points to a potential downside of 5.58% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $1.09 on Thursday, reaching $153.57. The stock had a trading volume of 884,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,933. The company has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.06.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs bought 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 91,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $215,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,295 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,618,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $718,015,000 after purchasing an additional 616,986 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16,964.6% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 610,059 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $104,113,000 after purchasing an additional 606,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $163,237,000 after purchasing an additional 503,324 shares in the last quarter. 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.