Short Interest in Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) Expands By 32.7%

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 703,200 shares, a growth of 32.7% from the February 13th total of 529,800 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 555,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HUBG shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hub Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Hub Group from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Hub Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Hub Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $41.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Hub Group Price Performance

NASDAQ HUBG opened at $37.34 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.36 and its 200 day moving average is $44.87. Hub Group has a fifty-two week low of $36.34 and a fifty-two week high of $53.21. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.48 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hub Group will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Hub Group’s payout ratio is 29.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hub Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 increased its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 803.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. 46.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hub Group Company Profile

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.