J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given New $227.00 Price Target at Citigroup

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $204.00 to $227.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on JBHT. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $192.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $174.68 and its 200-day moving average is $167.83. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a 52-week low of $153.12 and a 52-week high of $219.51. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.14.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,476,674.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,275. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,476,674.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,314 shares of company stock valued at $1,534,052. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter valued at about $242,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 168,981 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,635,000 after acquiring an additional 18,143 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 418,451 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $83,376,000 after purchasing an additional 19,604 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 102,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,490,000 after acquiring an additional 12,191 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 provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.