Demars Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Demars Financial Group LLC lowered its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 99.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,575 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 525,302 shares during the quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JBHT. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 179.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.2% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 731 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the first quarter valued at about $349,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $164.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $200.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $141.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.09.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total transaction of $150,298.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee purchased 1,148 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,201.72. This represents a 18.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JBHT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $157.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $164.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $172.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.55.

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.