JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $358.51 Million Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 416,167 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $358,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 489.9% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth $3,008,000. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth $395,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.0%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $223.45 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $207.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.51. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $234.82. The stock has a market cap of $21.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released 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. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 29.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,019 shares in the company, valued at $906,565.83. This trade represents a 7.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO John Kuhlow sold 1,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.68, for a total value of $225,680.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,931 shares in the company, valued at $4,046,668.08. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,316 shares of company stock worth $6,727,749 in the last 90 days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JBHT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Vertical Research lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $240.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.05.

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.