J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 28.32% from the company’s previous close.

JBHT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $218.00 to $199.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.39.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 8.4 %

Shares of JBHT stock traded down $15.44 on Wednesday, hitting $167.55. 2,880,993 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 797,931. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $160.07 and a one year high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.34.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 18.40% and a net margin of 5.68%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Chairman James K. Thompson sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.48, for a total value of $825,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 28,259 shares in the company, valued at $5,834,918.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP David Keefauver sold 978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.06, for a total value of $200,548.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,119 shares in the company, valued at $229,462.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James K. Thompson sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.48, for a total transaction of $825,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 28,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,834,918.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,432 shares of company stock worth $4,309,687. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 94.0% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 161 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 104.8% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 170 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 69.1% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.