PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Makes New Investment in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,578,000. State Street Corp raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after buying an additional 19,826 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $95,419,000 after buying an additional 12,040 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $32,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145,850.0% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 2,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JBHT. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price objective 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 note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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, January 16th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.84.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $163.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $170.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.50. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.12 and a 1 year high of $204.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % 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. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.