J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $212.00 to $220.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as high as $211.26 and last traded at $209.25, with a volume of 569613 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $203.50.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total value of $300,592.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,109.50. This represents a 74.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Kuhlow sold 3,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.76, for a total transaction of $579,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,957.20. The trade was a 19.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,147 shares of company stock valued at $3,302,555. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 3.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.68. The firm has a market cap of $19.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.