Simon Quick Advisors LLC Invests $770,000 in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,362 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,600.0% during the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 418.6% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 223 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.9% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JBHT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.3%

JBHT stock opened at $168.86 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.30. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.40.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 30.50%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee acquired 1,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares in the company, valued at $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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,192,944. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.