Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $45.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Hub Group traded as low as $33.98 and last traded at $34.01, with a volume of 208410 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.01.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Benchmark lifted their price target on Hub Group from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Hub Group in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hub Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Hub Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,489,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,148,000 after purchasing an additional 20,215 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Hub Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,105,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,838,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,915,000 after buying an additional 23,674 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hub Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,482,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,383,000 after acquiring an additional 10,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Hub Group by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,147,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,133,000 after acquiring an additional 499,621 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.77% of the company’s stock.

Hub Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

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

Hub Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Hub Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.41%.

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.