J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, a growth of 25.2% from the February 13th total of 2,500,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 858,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JBHT. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:JBHT traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $149.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,426,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,542. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.53. The company has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $147.00 and a 52 week high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.