Stifel Nicolaus Lowers J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Price Target to $151.00

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) had its price target trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $173.00 to $151.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $234.00 to $211.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $181.00 to $161.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $181.88.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $171.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.38 and a 200-day moving average of $181.20. 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 current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Persio V. Lisboa acquired 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $587,511.18. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,769,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,946,628,000 after purchasing an additional 25,109 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,168,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $433,186,000 after purchasing an additional 62,313 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7,720.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 983,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $196,485,000 after purchasing an additional 971,124 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at $185,299,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 887,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $177,336,000 after purchasing an additional 120,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

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.