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

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

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

Universal Logistics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULH opened at $31.78 on Wednesday. Universal Logistics has a twelve month low of $20.85 and a twelve month high of $38.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $836.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.08.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. Universal Logistics had a net margin of 5.59% and a return on equity of 18.58%. The company had revenue of $390.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.30 million. As a group, analysts expect that Universal Logistics will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Logistics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Universal Logistics’s payout ratio is presently 11.86%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Logistics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ULH. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Universal Logistics by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115,321 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,264,000 after buying an additional 295,701 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Universal Logistics during the 4th quarter worth about $3,361,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Universal Logistics by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 410,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,031,000 after purchasing an additional 92,662 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Logistics by 582.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,098,000 after purchasing an additional 90,704 shares during the period. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Logistics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,607,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.50% of the company’s stock.

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.