J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.80.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of JBHT stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $148.55. 1,121,563 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 874,075. The business's fifty day moving average is $165.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $144.42 and a 12-month high of $200.40. 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 (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. 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.