Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 7,500 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,500 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,280,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 140.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JBHT. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $147.89 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $139.89 and a 200-day moving average of $163.43. The company has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. 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 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. On average, equities research 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.94%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JBHT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.