Insider Selling: J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Insider Sells 3,919 Shares of Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) insider Bradley Hicks sold 3,919 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total value of $823,499.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,585,255.40. The trade was a 12.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $3.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $206.75. The company had a trading volume of 980,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,290. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $191.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.34. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $212.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 677.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Mustard Seed Financial LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at $324,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on JBHT. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.05.

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.