Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hub Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUBG) by 48.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 950 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hub Group were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hub Group by 286.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Hub Group by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Hub Group by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hub Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Hub Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.77% of the company’s stock.

Hub Group Trading Down 10.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HUBG opened at $33.93 on Friday. Hub Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.72 and a 52 week high of $53.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.22. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. Hub Group had a return on equity of 7.10% and a net margin of 2.64%. Equities analysts predict that Hub Group, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hub Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Hub Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on HUBG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hub Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Hub Group in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $41.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hub Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Hub Group from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Hub Group from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hub Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.73.

Hub Group Profile

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.