John Roberts, CEO of JB Hunt Transport Services (JBHT), recently bought 6,200 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 2%, and came to a total cost of $998,550.
The buy comes a month after a company director bought 5,000 shares, paying $1.01 million to start an initial stake. These mark the first insider buys since September 2022. Going further back, insiders have largely been sellers, usually following the exercise of stock options.
Overall, JB Hunt insiders own 19.8% of shares.
The trucking transportation company is down 7% over the past year. Physical shipments have trended lower over the past few years.
That’s showing up in JB Hunt’s operations, with earnings slowing by 35% and revenues declining by 9%. Shares just hit a new 52-week low.
On the valuation side, shares trade at 24 times earnings, a bit steep for the transportation sector. However, JB Hunt has a reasonable balance sheet with a low debt level overall.
Action to take: With shares trending lower, interested investors should hold off for signs of a bottom before buying in. At current prices, JB Hunt pays a 1.1% dividend, but that could go higher on a further move lower.
For traders, the short-term trend is lower. The June $150 puts, last trading for about $1.85, could see mid-double-digit returns in the coming weeks.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.