Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,462 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.12% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $20,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 174,450 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,844,000 after buying an additional 28,202 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 29,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,838,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,769,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,946,628,000 after buying an additional 25,109 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,089,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 197,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,413,000 after acquiring an additional 19,987 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 2.1 %

JBHT opened at $176.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.21. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.12 and a 1 year high of $219.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.57.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,594 shares in the company, valued at $587,511.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $587,511.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,476,674.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $191.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.88.

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.