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

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $195.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

JBHT has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.67.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 7.4 %

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $172.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $219.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $180.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.85.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,275. This trade represents a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth about $1,578,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 15,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,826 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,040 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.