Jefferies Previews J.B. Hunt's Q1: 11 Earnings (JBHT)

Jefferies is out with its report today on J.B. Hunt JBHT, previewing Q1: 11 earnings. In a note to clients, Jefferies writes, "For 1Q:11, we expect JBHT to report $0.39 EPS vs consensus of $0.38 and $0.29 in 1Q:10. Intermodal should continue to be a main driver of growth as we expect 15.0% YoY growth in IM revenues for the quarter vs 19.7%YoY in 1Q:10. Overall, we estimate 11.4% YoY revenue growth for JBHT vs 16.9% YoY growth last year and 16.3% YoY growth in 4Q:10. For the truck business, we expect 2.5% YoY revenue growth and 8.0% YoY revenue growth in the dedicated business. Given the large exposure to IM, we would expect weather to have more of an impact on the quarter than the other trucking companies, and expect fuel and employee compensation to be key cost line items. Focus will be on utilization and pricing trends in truck, as well as volume growth and outlook for the IM business." Jefferies maintains Buy on JBHT. Shares of JBHT closed Wednesday at $45.71.