J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $216.86 and last traded at $215.7850, with a volume of 53156 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $211.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JBHT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Argus raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $197.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 28.66%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total transaction of $300,592.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,109.50. This trade represents a 74.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 3,919 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total value of $823,499.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,585,255.40. The trade was a 12.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,957 shares of company stock worth $3,315,491 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 166,332 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,731,000 after purchasing an additional 17,132 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at $546,000. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1,103.2% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 13,492 shares in the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $505,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.