Mather Group LLC. Takes Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Rating) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,883 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JBHT. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 67.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 169 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 69.1% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Newfound Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Alfred C. Harper sold 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total transaction of $1,008,749.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,556 shares in the company, valued at $6,196,383.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $168.32 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.92 and a twelve month high of $218.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.42.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.53). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 6.54%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 9.27 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 18.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $196.00 to $193.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.82.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

(Get Rating)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc engages in the provision of logistics solutions. It operates through the following segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS) and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight operations for rail carriers.