J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $174.65, but opened at $187.88. J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares last traded at $185.28, with a volume of 540,543 shares.

The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JBHT. Citigroup initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $201.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.78.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $163.47 per share, with a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 stock was 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 directly owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,476,674.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,722.2% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 545,042 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $108,600,000 after buying an additional 525,729 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $152,589,000 after buying an additional 193,684 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 282.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 173,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,740,000 after buying an additional 128,283 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $19,755,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,887,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $170.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.78. The company has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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.