J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 24th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the transportation company on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has increased its dividend payment by an average of 13.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 11 years. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a dividend payout ratio of 21.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect J.B. Hunt Transport Services to earn $8.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.1%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $0.32 on Friday, reaching $169.96. 1,112,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,095,440. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $178.65 and its 200-day moving average is $174.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.11.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,904. This represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,275. This trade represents a 10.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,859 shares of company stock valued at $2,907,905 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.