JB Hunt's Q2 Beat Sends Stock To All-Time Highs: What 5 Analysts Have To Say

J B Hunt Transport Services Inc JBHT stock traded higher Friday after the company reported earnings and revenue beats Thursday afternoon.

J B Hunt reported second-quarter EPS of $1.14 on revenue of $2.15 billion. Both numbers topped the consensus analyst estimates of 83 cents and $2.01 billion, respectively.

Revenue was down 5% from a year ago. Operating income was down 9% to $175.2 billion.

Several Wall Street analysts weighed in on J.B. Hunt after the print. 

Impressive Margins

UBS analyst Thomas Wadewitz said J.B. Hunt’s margin improvements in the second quarter suggest earnings upside in future quarters as well.

“Margin performance in Intermodal and DCS were primary drivers of upside with margins 220 bp and 150 bp better than our forecasts,” Wadewitz wrote.

Raymond James analyst Patrick Tyler Brown said the company’s Dedicated Contract Services and its Intermodal business were bright spots in the quarter.

“We continue to believe JBHT garners an extremely sticky growth engine in its Dedicated business - which, with shares trading at ~22x our revised 2021 EPS estimate (vs. its five-year range of 15-26x), does not seem to be fully appreciated by the Street,” Brown wrote.

KeyBanc analyst Todd Fowler said second-quarter numbers suggest J.B. Hunt’s business is bouncing back and its investment thesis is intact.

“Overall, results strengthen our resolve around intermediate-term earnings potential in a cyclical recovery, aided by modest organic growth across segments,” Fowler wrote.

Limited Upside For JB Hunt?

Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra said Intermodal volumes that were down 1.5% and margins at 10% exceeded the most bullish expectations for the second quarter.

“There will likely be a muted reaction given equity value was already at all-time highs going into what we would characterize as a widely expected better result,” Mehrotra wrote.

Credit Suisse analyst Allison Landry said equipment imbalance will likely pressure near-term margins, and J.B. Hunt investors have very little near-term demand visibility.

“Hunt has no more visibility into future demand trends than it did a few months ago, and at the same time, it faces potentially significant cost pressures related to equipment imbalances at JBI,” Landry wrote.

Ratings And Price Targets

• UBS has a Neutral rating with a price target lifted from $99 to $145. 
• Raymond James has an Outperform rating with a price target lifted from $140 to $145. 
• KeyBanc has an Overweight rating with a price target lifted from $135 to $155. 
• Deutsche Bank upgraded J.B. Hunt from Sell to Hold with a price target lifted from $98 to $140. 
• Credit Suisse has a Neutral rating with a price target lifted from $122 to $138. 

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