Washington Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,100 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Washington Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 24.5% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 29,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,838,000 after buying an additional 5,767 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,769,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,946,628,000 after purchasing an additional 25,109 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 197,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,413,000 after purchasing an additional 19,987 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 215.2% during the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 14,867 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,962,000 after buying an additional 10,150 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 485.3% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,595 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 4,639 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $201.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.50.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Persio V. Lisboa acquired 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $587,511.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $175.57. The company had a trading volume of 754,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 838,717. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $219.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.87. The firm has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.19). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.