J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Earns "Buy" Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $195.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on JBHT. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.67.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $13.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $172.45. 3,299,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,105. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $180.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.85.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) 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). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total transaction of $427,262.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $786,550.50. This trade represents a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $127,904. This represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.