J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Upgraded by Susquehanna to Positive Rating

Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) from a neutral rating to a positive rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $200.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.06.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $175.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52-week low of $153.12 and a 52-week high of $219.51. The company has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $275,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This trade represents a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 433,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $69,312,000 after buying an additional 14,746 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 23,232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 4,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 152.9% in the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,819 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.