J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $174.65, but opened at $187.88. J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares last traded at $185.28, with a volume of 540,543 shares changing hands.

The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JBHT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $201.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.39.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Persio V. Lisboa purchased 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $163.47 per share, with a total value of $98,082.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $587,511.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,744,668 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,946,400,000 after acquiring an additional 80,123 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 14,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 9.0% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 3.9 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $169.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.15.

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.