Will Weakness in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:JBHT) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) has had a rough three months with its share price down 24%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. In this article, we decided to focus on J.B. Hunt Transport Services' ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for J.B. Hunt Transport Services is:

14% = US$571m ÷ US$4.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.14 in profit.

View our latest analysis for J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services' Earnings Growth And 14% ROE

At first glance, J.B. Hunt Transport Services seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This probably goes some way in explaining J.B. Hunt Transport Services' moderate 6.0% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that J.B. Hunt Transport Services' reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 11% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is JBHT fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is J.B. Hunt Transport Services Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 20% (implying that it retains 80% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Additionally, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 19% of its profits over the next three years. Still, forecasts suggest that J.B. Hunt Transport Services' future ROE will rise to 19% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that J.B. Hunt Transport Services' performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.