New Century Financial Group LLC Sells 1,045 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

New Century Financial Group LLC reduced its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 38.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,045 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 14,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.7% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 36,113 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,196,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of JBHT opened at $169.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.88 and a 200 day moving average of $169.58. The company has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.12 and a 52-week high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 27.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JBHT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.19.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,594 shares in the company, valued at $587,511.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.