Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock Price

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.50% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 13.3%

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $236.73 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.29. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $299.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Junto Capital Management LP grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 426,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 36,149 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.3% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,546 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.0% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 50,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,697,000 after buying an additional 2,397 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 32.2% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,521,000 after buying an additional 3,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Key J.B. Hunt Transport Services News

Here are the key news stories impacting J.B. Hunt Transport Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo maintained an “overweight” rating, although it lowered its price target from $335 to $305. The revised target still implies substantial upside from the recent trading level. Wells Fargo price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: J.B. Hunt’s warning came during a Morgan Stanley conference, providing investors with updated management commentary rather than a formal quarterly earnings report. Analysts and investors are reassessing forecasts ahead of the results. Morgan Stanley conference transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects third-quarter earnings to fall 5% to 10%, citing higher fuel prices and cost pressures. The outlook raised concerns that diesel inflation will reduce margins and profitability across J.B. Hunt’s transportation businesses. CNBC earnings warning
• Negative Sentiment: The fuel-cost warning pressured other trucking stocks as well, suggesting investors view the issue as an industry-wide risk rather than a problem limited to J.B. Hunt. Transportation sector reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities-law violations involving J.B. Hunt, adding legal and headline risk for shareholders. Zacks also downgraded the stock from “strong buy” to “hold.” Rosen Law Firm investigation

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. Through its operating segments, the company provides freight transportation, logistics and supply-chain services to customers across North America.

Its principal businesses include intermodal transportation, which combines rail and trucking; dedicated contract services, which provides customized transportation and fleet-management solutions; and integrated capacity solutions, which matches customer freight with available transportation capacity.