Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $42.00 to $50.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Hub Group traded as high as $46.67 and last traded at $46.5010, with a volume of 24708 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.47.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Hub Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Hub Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Hub Group in a research report on Friday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Hub Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary Yablon purchased 4,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.73 per share, for a total transaction of $199,671.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,381.94. The trade was a 16.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillip D. Yeager sold 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $1,397,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 168,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,351,999.20. This represents a 15.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hub Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Hub Group by 271.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hub Group by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Hub Group by 161.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,375 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 884.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,486 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. 46.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hub Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.42. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Hub Group had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business had revenue of $934.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $937.78 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Hub Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-1.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hub Group, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hub Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Hub Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

About Hub Group

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.