Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Universal Logistics from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th.

Universal Logistics Trading Down 1.1 %

ULH opened at $45.35 on Friday. Universal Logistics has a twelve month low of $20.85 and a twelve month high of $48.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.94 and a 200-day moving average of $29.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.08.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $390.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.30 million. Universal Logistics had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 23.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Logistics will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

Universal Logistics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Universal Logistics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Universal Logistics by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Universal Logistics during the fourth quarter worth about $470,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Universal Logistics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 799,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $22,400,000 after purchasing an additional 12,826 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Universal Logistics by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 65,244 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 7,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Universal Logistics during the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. 25.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Universal Logistics

Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc provides transportation and logistics solutions in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Colombia. The company offers truckload services, which include dry van, flatbed, heavy-haul, and refrigerated operations; domestic and international freight forwarding, and customs brokerage services.