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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $187.56.

Several analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $201.00 target price for the company.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $181.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,274,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,564. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.69 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 27.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 382.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

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.