Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) Stock

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Benchmark from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.72% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on HUBG. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Hub Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Hub Group from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hub Group from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Hub Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.58.

Hub Group Stock Down 2.4 %

HUBG stock opened at $43.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 0.94. Hub Group has a 52 week low of $38.07 and a 52 week high of $53.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $986.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Hub Group had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hub Group will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hub Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hub Group by 14.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 783,456 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,608,000 after buying an additional 97,768 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Hub Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,167,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hub Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,482,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,383,000 after buying an additional 10,328 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Hub Group by 199.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,354,000 after buying an additional 78,467 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Hub Group during the third quarter worth approximately $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.77% of the company’s stock.

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.