45,558 Shares in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 45,558 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,854,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total value of $2,002,040.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,281,125.62. This trade represents a 24.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total value of $519,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,862,800. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 16,154 shares of company stock worth $4,112,450 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $258.77 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $264.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $230.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.91. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.86%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

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.