Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $215.00 target price on the transportation company's stock.

JBHT has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $234.00 to $211.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $170.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $181.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $197.39.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 8.1 %

NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $14.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $168.13. 3,725,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,629. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $160.07 and a twelve month high of $219.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $200.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.34. The company has a market capitalization of $17.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.31). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 18.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.68%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, CFO John Kuhlow sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $745,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,244,381. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CFO John Kuhlow sold 3,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $745,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,244,381. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patrick J. Ottensmeyer acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $202.99 per share, with a total value of $1,014,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,014,950. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,432 shares of company stock valued at $4,309,687 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,744,668 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,946,400,000 after buying an additional 80,123 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,714,693 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,178,160,000 after purchasing an additional 429,256 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 269.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,371,613 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $413,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,989 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,168,748 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $433,186,000 after purchasing an additional 62,313 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 184.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,154,757 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $406,215,000 after buying an additional 1,397,651 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.