JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock Price

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $227.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on JBHT. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.65.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT stock traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $279.96. The company had a trading volume of 870,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 910,331. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $130.12 and a 12-month high of $294.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $270.28 and a 200-day moving average of $235.18.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 27.86%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total value of $1,017,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,045.04. The trade was a 31.51% 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 Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total value of $516,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,752.80. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,119 shares of company stock worth $4,736,095. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,712,000 after buying an additional 17,839 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,849 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,684 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth $6,435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.