Hub Group price target lowered to $41 from $45 at Stifel

Stifel analyst J. Bruce Chan lowered the firm’s price target on Hub Group (HUBG) to $41 from $45 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. After visits carriers, brokers, and shippers to get a better read on the current freight environment, the firm’s takeaway is that demand remains soft, with freight volumes “patchy and sub-seasonal,” the analyst tells investors in a note on the trucking and multi-modal transportation group. Consensus is that there is still too much supply and rationalization remains slow, but a crackdown on non-domiciled commercial driver’s license holders and enforcement of English Language Proficiency increase the odds, timeline, and magnitude of a freight upcycle, which “favorably shifts our conviction on certain heavily-discounted names,” the analyst added.