Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CVLG. Weiss Ratings cut Covenant Logistics Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Covenant Logistics Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Stephens initiated coverage on Covenant Logistics Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Covenant Logistics Group from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Covenant Logistics Group in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Covenant Logistics Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

Covenant Logistics Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CVLG opened at $46.39 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.26. Covenant Logistics Group has a one year low of $18.00 and a one year high of $47.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 309.27 and a beta of 1.29.

Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $307.16 million during the quarter. Covenant Logistics Group had a net margin of 0.42% and a return on equity of 9.41%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Covenant Logistics Group will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director D Michael Kramer sold 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.72, for a total transaction of $92,008.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,825.92. The trade was a 10.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joey Ballard sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.15, for a total value of $160,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,932.35. This trade represents a 23.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 42,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,566,515 over the last three months. Insiders own 36.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Covenant Logistics Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Covenant Logistics Group in the third quarter valued at $33,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Covenant Logistics Group by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Covenant Logistics Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Covenant Logistics Group by 127.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Covenant Logistics Group by 204.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the period. 83.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Covenant Logistics Group

Covenant Logistics Group provides a comprehensive suite of transportation and logistics services across North America. The company’s core offerings include less?than?truckload (LTL) and full truckload hauling, temperature?controlled freight, intermodal transportation and freight brokerage. Covenant also delivers specialized solutions such as expedited “hot?shot” deliveries, cross?border shipping to Canada and Mexico, and dedicated contract carriage for time?sensitive or high?value shipments.

With a network of service centers, terminals and partner carriers strategically located throughout the United States, Covenant supports diverse industries including food and beverage, automotive, retail, energy and manufacturing.