Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 87.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,939 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 16,339 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $5,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JBHT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 511,407 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $87,277,000 after acquiring an additional 9,935 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 898 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 6,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $235,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $160.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $171.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.82. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.12 and a 52-week high of $209.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 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 an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.11.

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.