Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 22,563 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during 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 during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 641,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,524,000 after acquiring an additional 8,997 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $95,419,000 after acquiring an additional 12,040 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $169.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $219.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.58 and its 200 day moving average is $174.73.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm 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 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.11.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.