Sanctuary Advisors LLC Increases Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 42.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,047 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 232.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 269 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 70.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 17,172 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 7,112 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.4% in the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 8,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 83,003 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,280,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $310,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of JBHT opened at $170.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $219.51. The company has a market capitalization of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.48.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,275. The trade was a 10.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.