Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 7,729 Shares of Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 302,467 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 7,729 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Hub Group worth $11,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HUBG. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Hub Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $95,105,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,838,308 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $81,915,000 after purchasing an additional 23,674 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Hub Group by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,147,499 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $51,133,000 after purchasing an additional 499,621 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hub Group in the fourth quarter valued at $41,487,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Hub Group by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 879,820 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $39,205,000 after buying an additional 32,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.77% of the company's stock.

Hub Group Trading Down 2.7%

HUBG stock traded down $0.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.08. The company had a trading volume of 547,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 552,834. Hub Group, Inc. has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $53.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.09 and a 200-day moving average of $37.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.13.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $915.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.86 million. Hub Group had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 7.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hub Group, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hub Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. Hub Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hub Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Hub Group in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Baird R W raised shares of Hub Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on Hub Group from $40.00 to $33.13 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.01.

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.