J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $294.92 and last traded at $294.4150, with a volume of 366581 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $289.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $248.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Argus set a $285.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.87.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $266.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.94.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.86%.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total value of $1,017,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,696 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,045.04. This trade represents a 31.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total transaction of $2,002,040.04. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,119 shares of company stock worth $4,736,095. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 13,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $539,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 234,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,459,000 after purchasing an additional 25,816 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,712,000 after purchasing an additional 17,839 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 88.8% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 133,605 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,926,000 after purchasing an additional 62,845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.