Castleark Management LLC Purchases New Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 56,520 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,359,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $100,903,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,942,000. Park Presidio Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $218,096,000. Gallo Partners LP bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,190,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,411,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.9%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $262.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $277.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $299.76.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 25.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 790 shares in the company, valued at $225,252.70. This represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. This represents a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

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.