Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,714,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 334,232 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.04% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $1,394,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $718,015,000 after purchasing an additional 616,986 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,497,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,408,057 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $208,322,000 after buying an additional 144,666 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 162,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,042,000 after acquiring an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 196.9% during the first quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. now owns 123,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $18,240,000 after acquiring an additional 81,733 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,192,944. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 4.7%

JBHT stock opened at $166.43 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $152.80 and its 200 day moving average is $147.16. The stock has a market cap of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $192.46.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.30. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 30.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Susquehanna upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $157.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.30.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.