J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Purchased by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 119.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,116 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 60,926 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR owned approximately 0.11% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $19,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% during the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,133 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the third 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JBHT. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.7 %

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $2.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $164.63. 555,411 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 959,308. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $174.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.77.

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 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 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 30.94%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.