J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Receives $191.11 Average Target Price from Analysts

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.11.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $166.15 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.90. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,035,000 after purchasing an additional 184,601 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,384.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 156,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,297,000 after buying an additional 149,815 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,689,000 after acquiring an additional 134,476 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,765,000 after acquiring an additional 93,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at about $15,149,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.