J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Benchmark in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 30.94% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on JBHT. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Stephens decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $210.00 to $192.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.56.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $164.20 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $198.90 and its 200 day moving average is $192.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $160.07 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.27). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,382,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,021,243.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director Patrick J. Ottensmeyer purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $202.99 per share, with a total value of $1,014,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,950. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,382,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,021,243.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,432 shares of company stock valued at $4,309,687. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 45.3% in the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 52,155 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,832,000 after acquiring an additional 16,249 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.8% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth $11,513,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 41,835 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,613 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 153,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.