J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $200.0455.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Barclays lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $214.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $613,584.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 90,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,241,526.46. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John Kuhlow sold 3,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.76, for a total value of $579,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,957.20. The trade was a 19.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,316 shares of company stock valued at $6,727,749. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,800.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 199 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $221.76 on Tuesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $234.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.56.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.