Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) Short Interest Up 67.5% in March

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

Hub Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HUBG opened at $32.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.70 and a 200 day moving average of $43.13.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. Hub Group had a return on equity of 7.10% and a net margin of 2.64%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hub Group will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Hub Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUBG. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in Hub Group by 4.8% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,580 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hub Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,936,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 5.6% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,039 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Hub Group by 3,711.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,250,000 after acquiring an additional 19,002 shares in the last quarter. 46.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Hub Group from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Hub Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.73.

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.