Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of 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 shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 555,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hub Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HUBG. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Hub Group during the 4th quarter valued at $95,105,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hub Group during the 4th quarter valued at $41,487,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Hub Group by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,147,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,133,000 after buying an additional 499,621 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hub Group during the 4th quarter valued at $17,458,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in Hub Group by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 589,141 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,252,000 after buying an additional 222,405 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.77% of the company’s stock.

Hub Group Price Performance

HUBG stock opened at $37.08 on Monday. 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 has a 52 week low of $36.34 and a 52 week high of $53.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.62 and its 200 day moving average is $44.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 0.93.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 7.10%. Research analysts predict that Hub Group will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Hub Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUBG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Hub Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Hub Group in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna raised shares of Hub Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark increased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hub Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.82.

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.