J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $236.00 and last traded at $231.95, with a volume of 69988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. Evercore set a $222.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Vertical Research cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.10. The stock has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.23.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.32%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total transaction of $300,592.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,109.50. This trade represents a 74.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total value of $519,216.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,862,800. This trade represents a 11.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,329 shares of company stock valued at $6,107,619. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $592,015,000 after purchasing an additional 272,594 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,940,833 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $765,862,000 after acquiring an additional 84,149 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,755,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $729,780,000 after purchasing an additional 565,605 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $358,510,000 after purchasing an additional 416,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,072,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 11,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.