J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. said Thursday it was raising its quarterly dividend by 7.1% to 30 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable May 21 to shareholders of record on May 7. The trucking company’s stock rose 2.0% in afternoon trading. Based on current prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 0.71%, which compares with the yield for the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF of 1.26% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 of 1.40%, according to FactSet. J.B. Hunt’s stock has rallied 69.6% over the past 12 months, while the industrial ETF has climbed 67.0% and the S&P 500 has advanced 48.5%.
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