Stifel Nicolaus Lowers J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target to $158.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $174.00 to $158.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 7.7 %

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $124.73 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.65. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. Equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% in the 4th 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. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is 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.