Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 76 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,537 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,035,000 after purchasing an additional 184,601 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,384.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 156,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,297,000 after acquiring an additional 149,815 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,689,000 after acquiring an additional 134,476 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,765,000 after acquiring an additional 93,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth $15,149,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $162.69 on Tuesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $213.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $172.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.93.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% 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.