J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $140.00 to $145.00. The stock had previously closed at $148.86, but opened at $157.84. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares last traded at $150.19, with a volume of 657,982 shares traded.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on JBHT. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Baird R W raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.90.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs bought 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,600.0% in the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.9% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.29.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.94%.

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.