Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CVLG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Covenant Logistics Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Covenant Logistics Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Covenant Logistics Group from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup started coverage on Covenant Logistics Group in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Covenant Logistics Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Covenant Logistics Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

Covenant Logistics Group Stock Performance

Shares of CVLG stock opened at $46.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 309.27 and a beta of 1.29. Covenant Logistics Group has a 52 week low of $18.00 and a 52 week high of $47.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Covenant Logistics Group (NYSE:CVLG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 expect that Covenant Logistics Group will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Covenant Logistics Group

In related news, EVP Joey Ballard sold 4,000 shares of Covenant Logistics Group 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,932.35. This trade represents a 23.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director D Michael Kramer sold 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.72, for a total value of $92,008.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,825.92. This trade represents a 10.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,150 shares of company stock worth $1,566,515. Insiders own 36.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVLG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Covenant Logistics Group by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 24,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,454 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Covenant Logistics Group by 97.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 88,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 43,816 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Covenant Logistics Group by 108.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 4,985 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Covenant Logistics Group by 161.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 179,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after purchasing an additional 110,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Covenant Logistics Group by 27.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 21,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the last quarter. 83.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.