J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 88.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,605 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 62,845 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.14% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $17,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.7%

JBHT stock opened at $215.85 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $215.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.23. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $236.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 1,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total value of $287,937.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $831,933. This represents a 25.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 4,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.13, for a total value of $906,823.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,842,826.35. This represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,656,495. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on JBHT. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price target for the company from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.00.

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.