AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 343,700.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,438 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth $1,578,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,826 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $95,419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,040 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145,850.0% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 2,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on JBHT shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.84.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $154.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.17. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $202.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

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.