Short Interest in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Expands By 14.5%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the October 15th total of 1,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 843,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. This represents a 17.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,550.50. This trade represents a 35.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,314 shares of company stock valued at $1,534,052. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC increased 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 worth $184,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted 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 worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $182.35 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $175.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.31. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The stock has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.14.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.