J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Upgraded at Susquehanna

Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) from a neutral rating to a positive rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Susquehanna currently has $200.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.06.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock opened at $175.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1 year low of $153.12 and a 1 year high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $181.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.57.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. 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 earned $1.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,136,277 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,133 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 61 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.