J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 111.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 956,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 503,324 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.95% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $163,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 790,038 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $134,828,000 after buying an additional 37,033 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,701,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.3 %

JBHT stock opened at $149.46 on Tuesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.00 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $167.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.53.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

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

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JBHT. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.80.

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.