Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at Barclays from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential downside of 6.25% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $156.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:JBHT traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $154.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 891,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,924. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.19. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs acquired 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% during 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,618,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 worth $718,015,000 after acquiring an additional 616,986 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its position 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 worth $104,113,000 after acquiring an additional 606,484 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position 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 worth $163,237,000 after acquiring an additional 503,324 shares during the period. 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.