J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 98,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $17,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,374,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $581,567,000 after purchasing an additional 22,563 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after acquiring an additional 19,826 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,685,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $269,611,000 after acquiring an additional 105,500 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,446,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $231,416,000 after purchasing an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $152,589,000 after purchasing an additional 193,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $172.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $181.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.89. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.