BMO Capital Markets Reaffirms Outperform Rating for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)

BMO Capital Markets reissued their outperform rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a $195.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued an overweight rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $181.00 to $161.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Benchmark dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $182.19.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $172.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.19). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Persio V. Lisboa purchased 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $163.47 per share, with a total value of $98,082.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $587,511.18. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Persio V. Lisboa acquired 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $587,511.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 29,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,838,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,769,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,946,628,000 after acquiring an additional 25,109 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Capital Management LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth about $8,089,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 197,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,413,000 after acquiring an additional 19,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth about $1,795,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.