Econ Financial Services Corp Buys New Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,543 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $718,015,000 after buying an additional 616,986 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,497,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after buying an additional 195,873 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,408,057 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $208,322,000 after buying an additional 144,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 162,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,042,000 after buying an additional 88,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.7%

JBHT stock opened at $166.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.67. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 4.75%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.50%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. Benchmark boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Eric Mcgee purchased 1,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $140.76 per share, with a total value of $161,592.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,201.72. This trade represents a 18.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.