Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases Shares of 8,777 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,390,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $578,572,000 after buying an additional 15,476 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,124,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $362,554,000 after purchasing an additional 104,019 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $340,049,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,319,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $225,209,000 after purchasing an additional 8,725 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $215,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,295 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $148.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 32.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on JBHT. Baird R W upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $175.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,847 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,995.25. This represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

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.