J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC decreased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,448 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total transaction of $306,450.18. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,563,579.45. This trade represents a 16.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,859 shares of company stock valued at $2,907,905 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JBHT. Bank of America upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $169.96 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51. The company has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. 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 fifty day moving average of $178.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.33.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. 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 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.94%.

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.