JB Hunt Transport Services Misses Where it Counts

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

JB Hunt Transport Services (NAS: JBHT) reported earnings on Oct. 11. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), JB Hunt Transport Services beat slightly on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and GAAP earnings per share grew.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 JB Hunt Transport Services reported revenue of $1.30 billion. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $1.28 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.17 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.65. The 29 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.66 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.65 for Q3 were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.57 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 17.1%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.3%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.0%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.32 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.70.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.04 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.59.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 154 members out of 205 rating the stock outperform, and 51 members rating it underperform. Among 52 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 43 give JB Hunt Transport Services a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on JB Hunt Transport Services is outperform, with an average price target of $59.64.

The article JB Hunt Transport Services Misses Where it Counts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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