J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC lowered its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,059 shares during the quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.9 %

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $158.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $171.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.70. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $208.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

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.