Verition Fund Management LLC Has $7.99 Million Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 305.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,897 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $7,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 15,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 119.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,278 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $95,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $690,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $189.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.56.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.27%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total transaction of $427,262.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,550.50. This represents a 35.20 % 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, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total value of $306,450.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,563,579.45. This represents a 16.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,314 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,962. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.11.

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.