JB Hunt sell-off puts pressure on transport sector after rally
By Sinéad Carew
July 17 (Reuters) -Shares in JB Hunt Transport Services Inc JBHT.O were down more than 7% on Wednesday, on course to snap a five-day rally and weighing heavily on the broader transportation sector after the trucking company's quarterly report fell short of expectations.
JB Hunt last traded at $162.88 after closing Tuesday's session at $176, its highest level since April 16, the culmination of a 5-day rally in which it gained over 13%.
Other transport companies also lost ground and JB Hunt was the biggest drag on the Dow Jones Transport average index .DJT, down more than 1%, and was leading percentage declines in the index, which is viewed as a bellwether for the U.S. economy.
Late on Tuesday JB Hunt had reported a 24% fall in second-quarter profit and a 7% drop in revenue with both missing Wall Street expectations.
Several Wall Street analysts cut their price targets for the stock after the report while some raised their price targets.
"Once again, JBHT's results reflect a freight environment that is still negatively impacted by excess capacity that is pressuring price and margins," wrote Benchmark analyst Christopher Kuhn.
But Kuhn, who has a buy rating and a $185 price target on the stock, pointed to some encouraging comments citing the company's reference to "more normalized seasonal patterns" and a second quarter that felt more like pre-pandemic conditions.
Falling along with JB Hunt on Wednesday were Old Dominion ODFL.O, down 1.8%, Landstar LSTR.O, off 1.4%, and Kirby Corp KEX.N, down 1.6%. Fedex FDX.N was down 1.4% while Ryder System R.N was off 0.8%.
The Dow transports index was falling after five straight days of gains, culminating in Tuesday's close at its highest level since early August.
Reporting by Sinéad Carew. Editing by Jane Merriman
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