Barclays Boosts J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target to $175.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its target price increased by Barclays from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on JBHT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup began coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $201.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.56.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $176.87 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1 year low of $153.12 and a 1 year high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $170.75 and its 200 day moving average is $167.69. The company has a market cap of $18.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,476,674.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $1,946,628,000 after acquiring an additional 25,109 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,685,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $269,611,000 after purchasing an additional 105,500 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,446,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $231,416,000 after purchasing an additional 5,179 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $152,589,000 after buying an additional 193,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,722.2% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 545,042 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,600,000 after buying an additional 525,729 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.