J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $189.00 to $170.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as low as $146.69 and last traded at $146.69, with a volume of 268442 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.46.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on JBHT. Truist Financial initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

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.