Bank of America Increases J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target to $171.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Bank of America from $166.00 to $171.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the transportation company's stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on JBHT. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT traded up $1.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $154.66. The stock had a trading volume of 891,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,924. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $142.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. 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 return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 4.65%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,600.0% in the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.9% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 306 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.