Bradley Hicks Sells 7,644 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) insider Bradley Hicks sold 7,644 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total value of $2,002,040.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $6,281,125.62. This trade represents a 24.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of JBHT opened at $256.53 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $227.79 and its 200 day moving average is $208.97. The company has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.12 and a 12-month high of $264.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $258,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,993 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $200,587,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 75,567.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,006,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $195,580,000 after buying an additional 1,005,047 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,434,000 after buying an additional 635,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 272.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $145,245,000 after buying an additional 546,880 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on JBHT. Argus set a $285.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Benchmark lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.17.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.