Short Interest in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Grows By 14.8%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, a growth of 14.8% from the November 30th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 859,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total transaction of $427,262.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,550.50. This represents a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total transaction of $306,450.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,563,579.45. This trade represents a 16.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,013,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 148,887 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,658,000 after purchasing an additional 23,078 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 23.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,578,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $170.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $219.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $181.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.13.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.11.

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.