Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,785 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $15,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 39,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,314,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,161,000 after acquiring an additional 6,811 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $310,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,476,674.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $587,511.18. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,476,674.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.88.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $172.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.21.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS 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, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.30%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.