Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 45.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,386 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $8,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth about $200,587,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $195,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,047 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 635,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 546,880 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total value of $1,017,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,213,045.04. This trade represents a 31.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,252.70. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,847 shares of company stock worth $4,162,861 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $299.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $288.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.85. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.12 and a 52 week high of $299.76.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 18.75% and a net margin of 5.31%.The company had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.50%.

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.