J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, a growth of 25.2% from the February 13th total of 2,500,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 858,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.80.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,861,000 after buying an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,518 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT stock traded down $2.33 on Tuesday, hitting $147.13. 1,466,572 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12 month low of $145.86 and a 12 month high of $200.40. The stock has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.13 and a 200 day moving average of $173.34.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its 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 return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

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.