J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT) hit a new 52-week high, reaching $265.36 intraday and last trading around $263.32.
• The company’s latest quarterly results topped estimates, with EPS of $1.49 and revenue of $3.06 billion, both above Wall Street expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $228.17, though some insiders recently sold shares.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $265.36 and last traded at $263.32, with a volume of 56558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

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 fifty day moving average price of $231.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.52. The stock has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of 41.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

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 (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 business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company 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. Analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total value of $516,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,188,752.80. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total transaction of $2,002,040.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,281,125.62. This trade represents a 24.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,154 shares of company stock worth $4,628,850. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,829 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,883,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,627,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $433,000. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,003,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,689 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 12,857 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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