Short Interest in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Drops By 10.1%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a decrease of 10.1% from the April 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 839,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ JBHT traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.59. 635,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 837,247. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $160.07 and a 1-year high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 5.25%. On average, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,382,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,021,243.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO John N. Roberts acquired 6,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $161.06 per share, with a total value of $998,572.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 313,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,565,592.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,382,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,021,243.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,454 shares of company stock valued at $3,283,219 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at about $482,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 12.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,499 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,414,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,290 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $344,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 17,666 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,330,000 after acquiring an additional 8,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $173.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $210.00 to $192.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $218.00 to $199.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.24.

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.