Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,374,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $581,567,000 after purchasing an additional 22,563 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased 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 valued at $566,944,000 after buying an additional 19,826 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised 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 buying an additional 93,213 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 641,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,524,000 after acquiring an additional 8,997 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,419,000 after acquiring an additional 12,040 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $149.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.00 and a fifty-two week high of $200.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.26 and a 200-day moving average of $173.69. The stock has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.60.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.