J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on JBHT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $299.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $261.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $270.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $274.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $299.76.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 25.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after buying an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,160,000 after acquiring an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at about $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.