J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,590,000 shares, a decrease of 7.2% from the December 15th total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 848,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This represents a 10.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.67.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 7.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $13.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $172.45. 3,299,167 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,105. 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 has a twelve month low of $153.12 and a twelve month high of $219.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $180.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released 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). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.