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

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during 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. Based on an average daily volume of 555,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hub Group Trading Down 2.1 %

HUBG opened at $37.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.87. Hub Group has a one year low of $36.34 and a one year high of $53.21. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, equities analysts forecast that Hub Group will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Hub Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hub Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $481,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 199.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,354,000 after purchasing an additional 78,467 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hub Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,489,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,148,000 after buying an additional 20,215 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hub Group by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Hub Group by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 577,940 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,753,000 after buying an additional 73,712 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna raised Hub Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hub Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Hub Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Hub Group in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $41.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on Hub Group from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hub Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.82.

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.