Insider Selling: J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) COO Sells 3,038 Shares of Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $613,584.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 90,318 shares in the company, valued at $18,241,526.46. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded up $6.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $210.01. 407,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,049,281. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $189.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $209.53.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on JBHT. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $214.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,160,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth approximately $539,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 281.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,844,000 after buying an additional 18,551 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.