Stephens Initiates Coverage on Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG)

Equities researchers at Stephens started coverage on shares of Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 32.57% from the company’s current price.

CVLG has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research raised Covenant Logistics Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Covenant Logistics Group from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Covenant Logistics Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Covenant Logistics Group Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of CVLG traded up $1.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.26. 26,960 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,129. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 301.73 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.44. Covenant Logistics Group has a twelve month low of $18.00 and a twelve month high of $47.08.

Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Covenant Logistics Group had a net margin of 0.42% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $307.16 million during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Covenant Logistics Group will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Covenant Logistics Group

In other Covenant Logistics Group news, EVP Joey Ballard sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.15, for a total transaction of $160,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,932.35. This trade represents a 23.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joey B. Hogan sold 12,800 shares of Covenant Logistics Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.18, for a total value of $501,504.00. Following the sale, the director owned 91,294 shares in the company, valued at $3,576,898.92. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,150 shares of company stock worth $1,566,515. 36.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Polaris Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Covenant Logistics Group by 1,061.0% in the fourth quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 51,800 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Covenant Logistics Group in the 4th quarter valued at $353,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Covenant Logistics Group in the 4th quarter valued at $474,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Covenant Logistics Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 316,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,984,000 after purchasing an additional 18,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Covenant Logistics Group by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.72% of the company’s stock.

Covenant Logistics Group Company Profile

Covenant Logistics Group provides a comprehensive suite of transportation and logistics services across North America. The company’s core offerings include less?than?truckload (LTL) and full truckload hauling, temperature?controlled freight, intermodal transportation and freight brokerage. Covenant also delivers specialized solutions such as expedited “hot?shot” deliveries, cross?border shipping to Canada and Mexico, and dedicated contract carriage for time?sensitive or high?value shipments.

With a network of service centers, terminals and partner carriers strategically located throughout the United States, Covenant supports diverse industries including food and beverage, automotive, retail, energy and manufacturing.