J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) EVP Darren Field Sells 4,000 Shares

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) EVP Darren Field sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,017,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,696 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $262.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.40. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $263.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Argus set a $285.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.17.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.7% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.