J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT Quick QuoteJBHT - Free Report) is benefiting from strong performances of its Dedicated Contract Services (“DCS”) and Truckload segments. The company’s top line climbed 26.3% year over year in 2021 with 17.4% increase in DCS revenues and 72% jump in Truckload revenues. The DCS segment is benefiting from fleet productivity improvement and increase in average revenue-producing trucks, while increase in load count and revenue per load are supporting growth of the Truckload segment.

Given the strong growth in e-commerce demand amid the pandemic, J.B. Hunt’s move to expand its final mile network (delivery of goods to customers’ doorstep) is encouraging. The company recently said that it will acquire the assets of Zenith Freight Lines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bassett Furniture Industries, for about $87 million. The deal is expected to close by Feb 28, 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

The buyout will expand J.B. Hunt’s industry-leading Final Mile Services segment, which operates one of the largest nationwide commingled cross-dock operations. The company has carried out a series of acquisitions in the past to expand its final mile services division.

J.B. Hunt’s measures to reward its shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases are noteworthy. Last month, the company hiked its dividend by 33% to 40 cents per share (annually: $1.60). JBHT raised its dividend twice last year. The company is also active on the buyback front. During 2021, it repurchased shares worth $150 million. The company had approximately $351 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization at the end of December 2021.

Owing to the abovementioned positives, shares of J.B. Hunt have rallied 31.6% in a year, outperforming the industry’s 28.6% rise.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter 2022 earnings has been revised upward by 6.3% in the past 60 days. The same for full-year 2022 earnings has been revised northward by 6.2%.

Given the rosy picture, we believe the time is rife for investors to add the J.B. Hunt stock to their portfolios now, as is suggested by its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Other Key Picks
Some other top-ranked stocks in the trucking industry are as follows:

ArcBest Corporation (ARCB Quick QuoteARCB - Free Report) sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 31.4%.

Shares of ArcBest have gained more than 55% in a year.

USA Truck (USAK Quick QuoteUSAK - Free Report) flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. The company’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters, while matching the same in one. The average beat is 64.4%.

Shares of USA Truck have surged more than 69% in a year.

Source: Zacks.com

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