Castleark Management LLC Purchases 16,940 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Castleark Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 299.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 16,940 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $4,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $592,015,000 after purchasing an additional 272,594 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,940,833 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $765,862,000 after purchasing an additional 84,149 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,755,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $729,780,000 after buying an additional 565,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,612,262 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $216,317,000 after buying an additional 82,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $200,587,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $225,252.70. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total transaction of $2,002,040.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $6,281,125.62. The trade was a 24.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock 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 note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT opened at $280.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.12 and a 12-month high of $299.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $279.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.29.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.