J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock opened at $150.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52 week low of $144.34 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The stock has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its 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 net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business 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 1.17%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

Insider Transactions 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 dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,390,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $578,572,000 after buying an additional 15,476 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $566,944,000 after acquiring an additional 19,826 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $340,049,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $225,209,000 after purchasing an additional 8,725 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.