J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV decreased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,986 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 100,125 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth $1,003,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth about $247,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth about $433,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 7,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $221.76 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.65. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $234.82. The firm has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on JBHT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $201.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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, Vertical Research cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $906,565.83. This trade represents a 7.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Albert Brad Delco sold 1,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.25, for a total value of $227,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,886.75. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,316 shares of company stock worth $6,727,749. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.