Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at $1,833,602,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $891,349,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $258,457,000 after buying 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 valued at about $200,587,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $261.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $286.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock opened at $261.03 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.12 and a 12 month high of $299.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $277.33 and its 200 day moving average is $252.69. The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $225,252.70. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. This trade represents a 8.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.