Boothbay Fund Management LLC Acquires 3,691 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,345 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JBHT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna set a $140.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.20.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $129.73 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $200.40. The stock has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $146.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.94%.

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.