Citigroup Reaffirms Buy Rating for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Citigroup in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $170.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $175.00. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.34% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on JBHT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $159.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $152.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.51. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $6,030,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,320 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth about $1,701,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% 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.