Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,810,251 shares, an increase of 20.1% from the December 15th total of 1,507,599 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 766,863 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 766,863 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hub Group

In related news, CEO Phillip D. Yeager sold 32,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Yablon purchased 4,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.73 per share, for a total transaction of $199,671.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,433,381.94. This trade represents a 16.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hub Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 24.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,723 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hub Group by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Hub Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Hub Group by 3.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 135,795 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hub Group by 33.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 39,181 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 9,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.77% of the company’s stock.

Hub Group Price Performance

Hub Group stock opened at $45.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47. Hub Group has a 52 week low of $30.75 and a 52 week high of $47.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.92 and a 200-day moving average of $37.83.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. The firm had revenue of $934.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $937.78 million. Hub Group had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Hub Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-1.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hub Group will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hub Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HUBG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI set a $53.00 price objective on Hub Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 target price on Hub Group and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $52.00 price target on Hub Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Hub Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.53.

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.