Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus raised Universal Logistics from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th.

Universal Logistics Stock Up 4.0 %

ULH stock opened at $33.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $881.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.17. Universal Logistics has a fifty-two week low of $20.85 and a fifty-two week high of $38.50.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) last issued 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 company had revenue of $390.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.30 million. Universal Logistics had a return on equity of 18.58% and a net margin of 5.59%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Universal Logistics will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Logistics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Universal Logistics’s payout ratio is 11.86%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Logistics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Universal Logistics by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Universal Logistics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $273,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Universal Logistics by 318.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,999 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 8,371 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Logistics by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 24,384 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 6,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Logistics by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 191,535 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,367,000 after purchasing an additional 6,824 shares in the last quarter. 25.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Logistics Company Profile

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.