J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $294.92 and last traded at $294.4150, with a volume of 366581 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.87.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $265.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.69.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 27.86%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total transaction of $426,015.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at $4,510,362.81. The trade was a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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 sale, the insider directly owned 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,281,125.62. This represents a 24.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 18,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,736,095 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.