J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Benchmark in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 28.32% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Stephens reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $210.00 to $192.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $234.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.39.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $15.44 on Wednesday, reaching $167.55. 2,880,993 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 797,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $200.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.34. The firm has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 1-year low of $160.07 and a 1-year high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The transportation company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.27). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 18.40%. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.79, for a total value of $159,689.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,090.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.79, for a total value of $159,689.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,090.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Kuhlow sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $745,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,244,381. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,432 shares of company stock worth $4,309,687 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 161 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 104.8% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 170 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 69.1% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.