J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $140.00 to $145.00. The stock had previously closed at $148.86, but opened at $157.84. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares last traded at $150.19, with a volume of 657,982 shares trading hands.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JBHT. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $166.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $159.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,600.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.9% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 306 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the 1st 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 Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.63. The stock has a market cap of $15.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.29. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 13.98%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.94%.

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.