Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,115,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 79,249 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 2.10% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $361,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth about $26,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.1 %

JBHT opened at $157.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.69. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $204.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm 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%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on JBHT. TD Cowen reduced their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.11.

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.