J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $215.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $170.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $181.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $173.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $210.00 to $192.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $194.56.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $167.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $160.07 and a 12-month high of $219.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.83.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.27). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 5.25%. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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

In related news, Director Patrick J. Ottensmeyer purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $202.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,014,950.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,014,950. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.54, for a total value of $187,686.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,134,773.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Patrick J. Ottensmeyer bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $202.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,014,950.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,950. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,432 shares of company stock worth $4,309,687. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,744,668 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,946,400,000 after purchasing an additional 80,123 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,714,693 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,178,160,000 after purchasing an additional 429,256 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 269.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,371,613 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $413,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,989 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,168,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $433,186,000 after purchasing an additional 62,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 184.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,154,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $406,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,651 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.