Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 205,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,840,000. J.B. Hunt Transport Services comprises approximately 1.6% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JBHT. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on JBHT. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.17.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total transaction of $426,015.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. This represents a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total transaction of $318,954.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares in the company, valued at $23,002,802. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 18,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,736,095 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of JBHT opened at $267.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $256.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.12 and a twelve month high of $293.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.37, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.30.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.