J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Short Interest Update

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,590,000 shares, a drop of 7.2% from the December 15th total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 848,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total transaction of $427,262.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,459 shares of company stock worth $2,136,277. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,133 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted 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 report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.67.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $13.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $172.45. 3,299,167 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 555,105. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.08 and a 200 day moving average of $173.95. The company has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.