J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ (JBHT) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Benchmark in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $195.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.87% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. 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 $192.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $3.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $174.31. 225,987 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 531,778. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $219.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.93. The company has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. The trade was a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $357,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.