Analysts Set J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target at $228.17

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $228.1739.

A number of analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd.

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

In other news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total transaction of $2,002,040.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,281,125.62. This represents a 24.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total value of $254,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,462.52. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,916 shares of company stock worth $4,109,634. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 1st quarter worth $257,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 1st quarter worth $124,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 454,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,332,000 after purchasing an additional 10,664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT stock opened at $280.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.73. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a twelve month low of $130.12 and a twelve month high of $281.62. The firm has a market cap of $26.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.35, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.