J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $186.20, but opened at $175.00. J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares last traded at $172.59, with a volume of 835,878 shares traded.

The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JBHT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.67.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 worth $152,589,000 after purchasing an additional 193,684 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,887,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 22,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,791 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,369,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $180.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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.