Heartland Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 109,806 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 16,479 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $14,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on JBHT shares. Argus raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $201.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $221.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.79 and a 52-week high of $234.82.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.32%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total transaction of $1,977,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,359,343.36. The trade was a 45.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $906,565.83. This trade represents a 7.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,316 shares of company stock valued at $6,727,749. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.