J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $168.00 to $223.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as high as $208.13 and last traded at $206.1810, with a volume of 100299 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $206.33.

JBHT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $240.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup downgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $214.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Kuhlow sold 3,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.76, for a total value of $579,726.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,353,957.20. The trade was a 19.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.04, for a total value of $380,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,029.96. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,109 shares of company stock worth $2,688,970. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key J.B. Hunt Transport Services News

Here are the key news stories impacting J.B. Hunt Transport Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on JBHT from $176 to $211 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling stronger analyst optimism and providing near-term upside support for the shares. JPMorgan raises price target to $211
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell sharply in December (down ~22.8% to ~2.84M shares, ~3.0% of float, short-interest ratio ~3.5 days), which reduces immediate short-selling pressure and can be a technical tailwind for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights JBHT as a top-ranked momentum stock, which can attract momentum-focused flows ahead of earnings. JB Hunt is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Heartland Advisors’ Mid Cap Value Fund letter notes mid-cap/value underperformance in the recent market environment — a macro observation that may limit sector-driven upside but doesn’t single out JBHT fundamentals. Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund’s Views on J.B. Hunt
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and analyst commentary are clustered ahead of the quarter (Yahoo’s piece examines whether upgrades reflect durable intermodal strength vs. cyclical optimism), adding noise but also keeping JBHT in focus for investors ahead of results. Do Clustered Analyst Upgrades Reveal Durable Intermodal Strength?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks’ Q4 preview flags expected year-over-year revenue declines and calls out higher net interest expense as a possible headwind to EPS — guidance or results confirming those pressures could push the stock lower on the print. Zacks: JB Hunt gears up to report Q4 — revenue decline and interest expense concerns

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

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.33.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 4.75%.The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 30.50%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.