Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 5,280 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total transaction of $519,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,862,800. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total value of $1,977,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,359,343.36. This represents a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,945 shares of company stock worth $5,656,495 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.3%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $205.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $236.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on JBHT. Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Argus upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

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.