Short Interest in Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) Rises By 16.2%

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the November 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 517,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Hub Group Price Performance

Shares of HUBG stock traded up $0.24 on Monday, hitting $49.36. 471,399 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 465,889. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Hub Group has a 52 week low of $38.07 and a 52 week high of $53.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11 and a beta of 0.92.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. Hub Group had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The business had revenue of $986.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hub Group will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Hub Group’s payout ratio is 28.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUBG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Hub Group from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Hub Group from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Hub Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Hub Group from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Hub Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $67,383,000 after purchasing an additional 10,328 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Hub Group by 199.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,354,000 after buying an additional 78,467 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Hub Group in the third quarter worth $286,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Hub Group during the third quarter worth $481,000. 46.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.