Benchmark Issues Pessimistic Forecast for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock Price

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective trimmed by Benchmark from $195.00 to $175.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $149.72 on Tuesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $144.34 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $161.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.83. The firm has a market cap of $14.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,390,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $578,572,000 after acquiring an additional 15,476 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,826 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,124,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $362,554,000 after purchasing an additional 104,019 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $340,049,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,319,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $225,209,000 after buying an additional 8,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% 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.