The board of directors at Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., approved a quarterly cash dividend to its shareholders of record as of Nov. 6. Shareholders will receive 21 cents per share in a cash payment on Nov. 20.
In other business, the board also approved a $500 million share repurchase authorization. The specific timing and amount of the repurchase will vary based on market conditions, cash flow and other factors, according to the release. The company also reserves the right to suspend, extend or discontinue the repurchase program at any time without prior notice.
In the recent quarter ending September 30, Hunt repurchased approximately 2.2 million shares valued at $177.9 million. At that same time the company still had about $1 million remaining under that share repurchase authorization.
The company had outstanding shares of roughly 114.6 million as of Sept. 30. J.B. Hunt shares (NASDAQ: JBHT) closed Thursday (Oct. 22) at $76.98, down 18 cents. For the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from a $70.58 low to a $93.50 high. The shares are down more than 8.6% in 2015.