Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,521 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,269 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 10,521 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,124,425 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $362,554,000 after buying an additional 104,019 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $340,049,000 after buying an additional 8,968 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $215,610,000 after buying an additional 1,024,295 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,181,027 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $201,555,000 after buying an additional 108,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $163,237,000 after buying an additional 503,324 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $196.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.1%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $148.05. 849,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 984,196. The business's 50 day moving average is $139.52 and its 200 day moving average is $162.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The company has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Analysts predict 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs acquired 1,529 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.