J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $166.30.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $170.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of ($5,136.05) million 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%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 30.50%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,192,944. This trade represents a 33.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 1st quarter worth about $1,746,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 10.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,258,000 after acquiring an additional 8,276 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 48.5% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,092,000 after purchasing an additional 6,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.