Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 56 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,855 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $182.35 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.31. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The company has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total value of $306,450.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,579.45. This represents a 16.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $275,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. The trade was a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,314 shares of company stock worth $1,534,052 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.