OP Asset Management Ltd Invests $1.68 Million in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 7,935 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,681,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $280.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.12 and a 52-week high of $293.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $263.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.30.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on JBHT. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total transaction of $200,446.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 790 shares in the company, valued at $225,252.70. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. This trade represents a 8.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,736,095 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.