Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 110,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,992 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $21,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased 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 buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $262.21 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $263.24. The company has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 27.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on JBHT. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total value of $254,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,462.52. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total transaction of $1,017,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,213,045.04. The trade was a 31.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,510 shares of company stock worth $2,110,410 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.