Brokerages Set J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) PT at $184.05

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.55.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT opened at $134.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.23. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52-week low of $127.35 and a 52-week high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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 was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 367.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 292.7% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,891,000 after purchasing an additional 16,992 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $14,655,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.