Analysts Set J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target at $203.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $205.2727.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $175.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total value of $519,216.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares in the company, valued at $3,862,800. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Kuhlow sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.68, for a total transaction of $225,680.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,931 shares in the company, valued at $4,046,668.08. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,656,495. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.2% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares during the last quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.9% during the third quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC now owns 88,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,815,000 after buying an additional 9,345 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at $3,627,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $433,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,003,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT opened at $199.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.46. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $236.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.