J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Earns Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $205.00 target price on the transportation company's stock.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, TD Cowen cut 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 research note on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.67.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $13.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.45. 3,299,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,105. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $219.51. The firm has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This represents a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $581,567,000 after buying an additional 22,563 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $566,944,000 after buying an additional 19,826 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,685,068 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $269,611,000 after buying an additional 105,500 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,749 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $152,589,000 after buying an additional 193,684 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $129,765,000 after buying an additional 93,213 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.