Benchmark Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG - Free Report) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $47.00 price target on the transportation company's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hub Group from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Hub Group from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Hub Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Hub Group from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hub Group from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Hub Group Price Performance

HUBG stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 491,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,019. The company's fifty day moving average is $44.33 and its 200-day moving average is $43.42. Hub Group has a 1 year low of $33.38 and a 1 year high of $48.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Hub Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $986.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Hub Group will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Hub Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hub Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUBG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hub Group by 99.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,883,930 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $297,523,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,047 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Hub Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,356,564 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $101,450,000 after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in Hub Group by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,836,354 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $79,055,000 after purchasing an additional 298,390 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Hub Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,322,166 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $56,919,000 after purchasing an additional 76,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Hub Group by 99.5% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 841,980 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,390,000 after purchasing an additional 419,873 shares in the last quarter. 46.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.