Al Root

J.B. Hunt Transport stock was down after the company reported fourth-quarter results that showed an expected improvement in shipping hasn't arrived yet.

Thursday evening, Hunt announced earnings per share of $1.53 from sales of $3.1 billion. Wall Street was looking for $1.61 and $3.1 billion respectively.

Excluding impairment charges, EPS was closer to $1.66, a beat compared with Wall Street estimates. But management's financial guidance fell short. It said first-quarter operating income should be about $170 million. Wall Street was projecting closer to $210 million.

J.B. Hunt stock was down 10% in premarket trading at $167.60, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up about 0.4%.

"Decent 4Q, the opposite of green shoots to start 2025," wrote Bernstein analyst David Vernon in a Friday report, adding Hunt typically starts a year with upbeat guidance. He suspects rising costs are the reason.

"Makes sense to tread carefully here, remain on the sidelines," Vernon wrote.

Vernon rates the shares at Hold and has a $180 price target for the stock. Citi analyst Ariel Rosa rates shares at Buy. His price target is $193, down from $204 before the earnings report.

"While 4Q results indicate a still-weak environment, there were early signs of improvement," wrote Rosa in a Friday report. There were quarter-over-quarter gains in revenue per load in Hunt's intermodal and brokerage businesses. Still, the weak guidance is "certain to overshadow" the fourth-quarter numbers, he said.

It will also make it tough for investors to get excited about other trucking stocks early in 2025.

Knight-Swift Transportation shares were down 1.1% in premarket trading. Schneider National shares were down 1.2%.

Coming into Friday trading, Knight and Schneider's shares were up 5% and 28% respectively over the past 12 months, reflecting some optimism that 2025 would be better than 2024.

J.B. Hunt shares were down about 3% over the past 12 months. Its investors have had a tougher time.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2025 08:17 ET (13:17 GMT)

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