Short Interest in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Drops By 31.8%

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 2nd, 2026

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,101,776 shares, a decline of 31.8% from the June 30th total of 3,083,665 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 941,183 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $299.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.30.

Check Out Our Latest Report on J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $271.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.03. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $130.12 and a one year high of $299.76.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 25.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total value of $516,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,752.80. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total transaction of $200,446.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $225,252.70. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,847 shares of company stock valued at $4,162,861 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $592,015,000 after buying an additional 272,594 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,982,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $843,937,000 after buying an additional 41,887 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,755,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $729,780,000 after buying an additional 565,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,612,262 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $216,317,000 after buying an additional 82,939 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $200,587,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting J.B. Hunt Transport Services this week:

Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its EPS forecasts across multiple periods, including FY2026 to $7.65 from $7.21, FY2027 to $9.68 from $8.89, and FY2028 to $10.40 from $9.31. The firm also increased estimates for several upcoming quarters, signaling expectations for stronger profitability. J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock information
Positive Sentiment: Notable quarterly revisions included Q3 2026 EPS rising to $2.05 from $1.97, Q4 2026 to $2.19 from $2.07, Q2 2027 to $2.05 from $1.79, Q3 2027 to $3.16 from $2.93, and Q2 2028 to $2.49 from $2.14. These upgrades support the bullish case for JBHT’s longer-term earnings growth.
Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research maintained a “Strong-Buy” rating, reinforcing the favorable analyst view. The estimate increases follow J.B. Hunt’s latest quarterly report, when the company exceeded both revenue and EPS expectations and posted year-over-year revenue growth.
Neutral Sentiment: Although the estimates were raised, Zacks’ FY2026 forecast of $7.65 EPS remains slightly below the broader consensus estimate of $7.75, suggesting that near-term upside expectations are positive but not uniformly above market forecasts.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.