J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $189.00 to $170.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as low as $146.69 and last traded at $146.69, with a volume of 268442 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.46.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial started coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,390,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $578,572,000 after acquiring an additional 15,476 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after acquiring an additional 19,826 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,124,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $362,554,000 after acquiring an additional 104,019 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $340,049,000 after acquiring an additional 8,968 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,319,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $225,209,000 after acquiring an additional 8,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $167.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.65%.

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.