Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Benchmark in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $195.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.87% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on JBHT. TD Cowen raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded down $3.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $174.31. The company had a trading volume of 225,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,778. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $180.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.93. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,013,000 after buying an additional 1,737 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.