J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $175.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on JBHT. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $124.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Equities research 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.94%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.