J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target Raised to $175.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $153.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.55.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $164.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $122.79 and a one year high of $200.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 4.75%.The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee bought 1,148 shares of the firm’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 purchase, the executive vice president owned 7,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,201.72. This represents a 18.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.2% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 731 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 14,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.