Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $195.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on JBHT. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 2.0 %

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $174.29 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $180.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.93. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $219.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. The trade was a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,035,000 after acquiring an additional 184,601 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,384.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 156,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,297,000 after purchasing an additional 149,815 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 282.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 173,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,740,000 after purchasing an additional 128,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.