Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) Short Interest Up 22.4% in March

Key Points

• Short interest in Hub Group rose 22.4% in March to 2,626,929 shares, about 4.5% of the stock with a days-to-cover ratio of 3.1.
• Shares traded at $35.29 (down 0.3%), sitting below the 50‑day ($41.53) and 200‑day ($39.79) moving averages; market cap is roughly $2.16 billion with a P/E of 20.4.
• Hub Group pays a quarterly dividend of $0.125 (annualized $0.50, yield 1.4%), and analysts have an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $43.20.

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,626,929 shares, a growth of 22.4% from the February 26th total of 2,145,412 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 855,413 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Hub Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Hub Group stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $35.29. The company had a trading volume of 762,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 875,192. The company's 50-day moving average is $41.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.79. Hub Group has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.14.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Hub Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Institutional Trading of Hub Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUBG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hub Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,098,160 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $174,625,000 after purchasing an additional 35,866 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Hub Group by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,465,688 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $147,673,000 after buying an additional 501,955 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Hub Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $139,588,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,466,866 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $105,113,000 after acquiring an additional 25,148 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,118,108 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $90,253,000 after acquiring an additional 159,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HUBG. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hub Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $27.00 target price on shares of Hub Group and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hub Group in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Hub Group from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hub Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.20.

Hub Group Company Profile

Hub Group, Inc NASDAQ: HUBG is a leading supply chain solutions provider headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Founded in 1971 as Hub City Terminals and renamed Hub Group in 1978, the company completed its initial public offering in 2007. Over the decades, Hub Group has developed a comprehensive multimodal transportation network, leveraging partnerships with major rail carriers and an extensive drayage fleet to offer cost-efficient, sustainable shipping alternatives.

The company operates through two primary segments: Intermodal and Transportation Management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.