Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $3.04 Million Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,510 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summitry LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.9% during the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $286.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $261.03 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $277.33 and its 200-day moving average is $252.50. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.12 and a 1 year high of $299.76. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 18.75% and a net margin of 5.31%.The firm’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total transaction of $426,015.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. The trade was a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,252.70. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.50% 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.