J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Benchmark

Benchmark began coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Cowen boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $192.00 to $213.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $209.00 to $231.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 9th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $242.00 to $220.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Stephens cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 19th. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a neutral rating to a positive rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $212.56.

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $173.48 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $155.11 and a one year high of $218.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.38. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 28.36% and a net margin of 6.58%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 13th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 19.85%.

In related news, EVP Bradley W. Hicks sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.94, for a total value of $163,952.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth $25,000. Lee Financial Co purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile (Get Rating)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in North America. 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.

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