GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $1.45 Million in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,822 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total transaction of $300,592.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 550 shares in the company, valued at $104,109.50. The trade was a 74.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total value of $613,584.86. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 90,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,241,526.46. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,316 shares of company stock valued at $6,727,749. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $223.51 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.79 and a twelve month high of $234.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $206.85 and its 200-day moving average is $172.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on JBHT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $240.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Benchmark upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Argus raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.05.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.