Darren Field Sells 9,000 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) EVP Darren Field sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total value of $1,977,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,359,343.36. This represents a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 3.4%

JBHT opened at $228.22 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $199.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $229.44.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 28.66%.

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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after buying an additional 6,668 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,160,000 after acquiring an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $539,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore ISI set a $222.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

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.