Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $8,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on JBHT shares. Raymond James dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.05.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, 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 value of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $146.12 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.34 and a 1 year high of $200.40. The company has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

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.