Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Acquires 1,375 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,939,000. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 52,155 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,832,000 after acquiring an additional 16,249 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 41,835 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 153,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on JBHT shares. UBS Group raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $234.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $178.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,382,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,021,243.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,382,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,021,243.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.79, for a total transaction of $159,689.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,090.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,432 shares of company stock valued at $4,309,687. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 2.1 %

JBHT traded up $4.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $199.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 632,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,774. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.39 and a twelve month high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.27). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 18.40%. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 24.68%.

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.