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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $188.00 to $166.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as low as $127.05 and last traded at $128.93, with a volume of 177093 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $129.46.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on JBHT. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.95.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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 owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth $1,578,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145,850.0% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 2,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 2,917 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 69,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,810,000 after acquiring an additional 25,034 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $155.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.72. The stock has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.