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

by · The Markets Daily

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,974,595 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the January 29th total of 2,500,314 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,464,482 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,464,482 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 4,028 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.13, for a total value of $906,823.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,842,826.35. This trade represents a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total transaction of $1,977,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,359,343.36. This represents a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 28,329 shares of company stock valued at $6,107,619 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,160,000 after acquiring an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth $539,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 69.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $222.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Benchmark lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.00.

View Our Latest Report on J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded up $4.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $234.92. 622,245 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 998,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $122.79 and a one year high of $236.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.50.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

(Get Free Report)

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.

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