Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Boosts Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 57.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,374,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $581,567,000 after buying an additional 22,563 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after acquiring an additional 19,826 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,765,000 after acquiring an additional 93,213 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 641,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,524,000 after purchasing an additional 8,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $160.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $171.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.82. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $209.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.65%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.