Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 406 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 656 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.2% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 731 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 112,900.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT opened at $142.06 on Tuesday. 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 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.62. The stock has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 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). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 4.59%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 32.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $166.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reissued 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, July 16th. Ten equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total transaction of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.