Share Buyback Program Initiated by J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Board of Directors

Key Points

• J.B. Hunt Transport Services has initiated a stock buyback program, allowing the company to repurchase shares through open market purchases, indicative of management's belief that the stock is currently undervalued.
• The company's earnings report for the previous quarter showed a profit of $1.76 per share, surpassing analyst expectations significantly, while revenue reached $3.05 billion but was down by 0.5% year-over-year.
• Various research firms have adjusted their price targets for J.B. Hunt stock, with updates reflecting a range of buy ratings and price targets between $163.00 and $175.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 22nd, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.53. 1,710,982 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,696,550. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $122.79 and a twelve month high of $200.40. The company has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 4.75%.The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on JBHT. Citigroup cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $164.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee bought 1,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 7,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,201.72. The trade was a 18.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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.