J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,059 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,303 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at $7,815,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at $828,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 34,939 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,963,000 after purchasing an additional 16,339 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on JBHT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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. 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. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $158.90 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $208.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. 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%.

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.