J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $185.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.78.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 3.1 %

JBHT stock opened at $180.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director Persio V. Lisboa purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $587,511.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,594 shares in the company, valued at $587,511.18. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 382.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently 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.