J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT Shares Sold by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc cut its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 25.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $718,015,000 after purchasing an additional 616,986 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,497,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after acquiring an additional 195,873 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,408,057 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $208,322,000 after acquiring an additional 144,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 118.4% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 162,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,042,000 after acquiring an additional 88,100 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,192,944. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $166.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $150.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.79. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $192.46. 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 has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 30.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on JBHT. Bank of America increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $164.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Benchmark increased 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, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.30.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.