Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Boosts Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 318,165 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,322 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $61,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total value of $318,954.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares in the company, valued at $23,002,802. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total value of $2,002,040.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,281,125.62. This represents a 24.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,916 shares of company stock worth $4,109,634. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $284.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $245.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.11, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.12 and a 1 year high of $289.95.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Argus set a $285.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.83.

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.