Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 13,823 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 55.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,823 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $5,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after acquiring an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,160,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth $539,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $206.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $192.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.89. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $212.00. The company has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.05.

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

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $613,584.86. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 90,318 shares in the company, valued at $18,241,526.46. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total value of $300,592.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,109.50. This trade represents a 74.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,457 shares of company stock valued at $4,413,991. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.