Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Increases Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,701 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,956 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $10,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,883,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $3,627,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $433,000. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $1,003,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145.6% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after buying an additional 12,857 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. One research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total value of $318,954.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,736 shares in the company, valued at $23,002,802. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total transaction of $519,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares in the company, valued at $3,862,800. This represents a 11.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,154 shares of company stock valued at $4,112,450. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $262.88 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $228.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.65. The stock has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 40.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 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 $264.98. 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 results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. 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 currently 27.86%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.