Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.12% from the company’s current price.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Vertical Research downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.91.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $225.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.53. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $236.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.22.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released 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 business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, CAO John Kuhlow sold 1,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.68, for a total transaction of $225,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,046,668.08. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total value of $519,216.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,862,800. This represents a 11.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,656,495 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $692,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 633.2% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,657 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $379,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.