J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Holdings Lowered by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 471 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 269.1% in the 4th 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. Norges Bank acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $144,189,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the first quarter worth about $44,363,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,581,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $277,540,000 after acquiring an additional 221,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,067.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 201,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,483,000 after acquiring an additional 192,319 shares during the last quarter. 73.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JBHT. Susquehanna decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $210.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $187.11 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.28 and a fifty-two week high of $209.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.80.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 4th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 20.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Stuart Lockard Scott sold 1,609 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.28, for a total value of $319,032.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,126 shares in the company, valued at $5,775,103.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Chairman James K. Thompson sold 2,479 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.31, for a total value of $476,736.49. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 32,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,261,421.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stuart Lockard Scott sold 1,609 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.28, for a total transaction of $319,032.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,775,103.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,502 shares of company stock valued at $2,284,358 in the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.