J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $157.82, but opened at $162.06. J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares last traded at $157.58, with a volume of 94,112 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price target on 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. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $170.96 and its 200-day moving average is $174.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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 owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. National Pension Service bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 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.