Nixon Capital LLC Makes New Investment in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Nixon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 7,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000. J.B. Hunt Transport Services comprises about 0.4% of Nixon Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of JBHT. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $132.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.35 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $158.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna downgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.55.

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.