Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 48.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,823 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $3,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,030,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 820 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs acquired 1,529 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on JBHT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $163.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $175.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $148.89 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $200.40. 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 moving average price of $144.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.36. The company has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 4.59%. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.00%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.