J.B. Hunt Transport Services Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:JBHT)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 4,597 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 233% compared to the typical volume of 1,379 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $587,511.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.1% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,520 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,452,000. Shellback Capital LP increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.0% during the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 70,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,200,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at $832,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded down $5.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.90. 203,771 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 857,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.21. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $153.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.04. The stock has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.14.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 27.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on JBHT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $181.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.88.

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.