Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 17.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,486,670,000 after buying an additional 195,873 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $718,015,000 after acquiring an additional 616,986 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,408,057 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $208,322,000 after acquiring an additional 144,666 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,347,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $199,364,000 after purchasing an additional 27,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,201,423 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $177,738,000 after purchasing an additional 20,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $138.83 on Thursday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $200.40. The stock has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.89.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. 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 $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JBHT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $158.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $159.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $157.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee purchased 1,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,201.72. This trade represents a 18.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total transaction of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,763.62. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.