J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given New $161.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $167.00 to $161.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target points to a potential downside of 13.17% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Loop Capital increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.78.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded up $3.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $185.41. 399,199 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 647,817. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $153.12 and a twelve month high of $219.51. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.58.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total transaction of $427,262.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 13,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $253,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth about $1,545,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,689,000 after purchasing an additional 134,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.