Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) Short Interest Update

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a growth of 67.5% from the March 15th total of 805,900 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 640,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on HUBG. Barclays decreased their price target on Hub Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Hub Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Hub Group from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Hub Group in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Hub Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hub Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hub Group by 440.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 859 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 950 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hub Group by 286.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hub Group by 803.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Hub Group by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.77% of the company’s stock.

Hub Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of HUBG stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $32.30. 447,112 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 513,472. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Hub Group has a 12 month low of $31.30 and a 12 month high of $53.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.31.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.48. Hub Group had a return on equity of 7.10% and a net margin of 2.64%. On average, equities analysts expect that Hub Group will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Hub Group’s payout ratio is 29.41%.

About Hub Group

Hub Group, Inc, a supply chain solutions provider, offers transportation and logistics management services in North America. The company's transportation services include intermodal, truckload, less-than-truckload, flatbed, temperature-controlled, and dedicated and regional trucking, as well as final mile, railcar, small parcel, and international transportation.