J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $239.8696.

JBHT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Benchmark boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus set a $285.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $280.30 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $293.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $263.32 and its 200-day moving average is $229.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 27.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total transaction of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,752.80. The trade was a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total value of $318,954.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,002,802. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,736,095 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 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.