Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 681 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,283 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on 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. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on 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, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.60.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $149.43 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.29 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The company has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm 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 net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.