J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $189.00 to $170.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as low as $146.69 and last traded at $146.69, with a volume of 268442 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $149.46.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted 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. boosted 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. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.16. The stock has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. Analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

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.