Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 47.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,656 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,139 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $5,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 140.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna set a $140.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.20.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $147.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $122.79 and a one year high of $200.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $140.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs bought 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.