J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna

Susquehanna cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) from a positive rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $165.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $200.00.

JBHT has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 3.1 %

JBHT stock opened at $146.12 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $144.34 and a one year high of $200.40. The company has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $162.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth approximately $1,578,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $566,944,000 after buying an additional 19,826 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $95,419,000 after buying an additional 12,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145,850.0% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 2,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,917 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.