Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,981 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,844 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.06% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $7,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT opened at $230.16 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $234.82. The firm has a market cap of $21.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $208.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.49.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CFO Albert Brad Delco sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.25, for a total value of $227,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,886.75. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total value of $74,663.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $906,565.83. The trade was a 7.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,316 shares of company stock valued at $6,727,749 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Benchmark upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $214.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.00.

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.