J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $165.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as low as $139.66 and last traded at $140.13, with a volume of 420435 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $152.78.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on JBHT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Benchmark reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.55.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 367.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 292.7% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 22,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,891,000 after acquiring an additional 16,992 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth about $14,655,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.2 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.23.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. 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 1.31%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

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.