J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $174.00 to $158.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as low as $127.05 and last traded at $128.93, with a volume of 177093 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $129.46.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on JBHT. TD Cowen decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna downgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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 transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $878,000 after purchasing 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 worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.6% during 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. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $154.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business's revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.