J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.11.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Barclays upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 18,084 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,036 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $320,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,416 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT traded up $2.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.26. The company had a trading volume of 743,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 851,237. The company has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $153.12 and a twelve month high of $204.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.59.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.