J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $205.4545.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,019 shares in the company, valued at $906,565.83. This trade represents a 7.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 4,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.13, for a total value of $906,823.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,842,826.35. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,945 shares of company stock worth $5,656,495. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,587,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 75,567.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,006,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $195,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,047 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,434,000 after acquiring an additional 635,172 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 272.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $145,245,000 after acquiring an additional 546,880 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of JBHT opened at $217.71 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52-week low of $122.79 and a 52-week high of $236.00. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

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

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.