Critical Review: Hub Group (HUBG) versus Its Rivals

Hub Group (NASDAQ:HUBG) is one of 61 publicly-traded companies in the “Air Freight & Logistics” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Hub Group to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Hub Group and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hub Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hub Group Competitors	-1,651.27%	-22.27%	-11.48%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hub Group and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hub Group	$3.95 billion	$103.99 million	14.00
Hub Group Competitors	$9.37 billion	$472.10 million	9.29

Hub Group’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Hub Group. Hub Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Hub Group and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hub Group	2	7	6	0	2.27
Hub Group Competitors	667	2032	2609	108	2.40

Hub Group currently has a consensus price target of $40.73, suggesting a potential upside of 68.16%. As a group, “Air Freight & Logistics” companies have a potential upside of 18.60%. Given Hub Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hub Group is more favorable than its rivals.

Volatility & Risk

Hub Group has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hub Group’s rivals have a beta of 0.69, meaning that their average share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hub Group pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Hub Group pays out 28.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Air Freight & Logistics” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.6% and pay out 41.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

46.8% of Hub Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.7% of shares of all “Air Freight & Logistics” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of Hub Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.4% of shares of all “Air Freight & Logistics” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Hub Group beats its rivals on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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. Its logistics services comprise full outsource logistics solution, transportation management, freight consolidation, warehousing and fulfillment, final mile delivery, and parcel and international services. The company also provides dry van, expedited, less-than-truckload, refrigerated, and flatbed truck brokerage services. It offers a fleet of approximately 2,300 tractors, 460 independent owner-operators, and 4,300 trailers to its customers, as well as the management and infrastructure. The company serves a range of industries, including retail, consumer products, and durable goods. As of December 31, 2023, it owned approximately 50,000 dry, 53-foot containers, as well as 900 refrigerated and 53-foot containers. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.