J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Bought by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 25,492 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned approximately 0.22% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $37,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JBHT. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,035,000 after purchasing an additional 184,601 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,384.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 156,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,297,000 after acquiring an additional 149,815 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 134,476 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,765,000 after purchasing an additional 93,213 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $15,149,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JBHT. TD Cowen decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $166.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.33 and a 200-day moving average of $174.82.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 30.94%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.