Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $7.24 Million Investment in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 25,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,239,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,672,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth $800,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth $1,411,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at about $128,246,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at about $125,949,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $256.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $276.91 and a 200 day moving average of $253.13. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $299.76. The firm has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.50%.

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

In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,510,362.81. This trade represents a 8.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares in the company, valued at $225,252.70. This represents a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $261.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.