Piper Jaffray Reiterates Overweight on J.B. Hunt (JBHT)

Piper Jaffray is out with its report today on J.B Hunt JBHT, reiterating Overweight and its $48 price target. In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "On Friday before the market JBHT reported EPS of $0.46 (+44.0% y-o-y) a penny above Consensus and our $0.45 estimate. Netting a tax benefit and higher interest costs, the quarter was in line with our estimate. 4Q10 revenue exceeded our estimate by 2.9%, primarily on stronger core Intermodal and Dedicated results. Management indicated for 2011 the planned addition of 4,500 intermodal containers putting the fleet up 10% y-o-y vs. 4Q10 as JBHT positions itself for further above market growth – albeit price and margin improvement may come at a more measured pace given the company's focus on growing operations longer term." Shares of JBHT closed Friday at $41.35, down 3.37% from Thursday's close.