Wall Street Zen Upgrades Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) to Hold

Key Points

• Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating.
• Stifel Nicolaus lowered its price target for Universal Logistics from $37.00 to $29.00, while the stock opened at $27.14 on Friday.
• The company reported earnings of $0.32 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, and has a market cap of $714.60 million.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Universal Logistics from $37.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.00.

Universal Logistics Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ ULH traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.41. 27,347 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,701. Universal Logistics has a 1-year low of $20.60 and a 1-year high of $53.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $695.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.00.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Universal Logistics had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 9.47%. The business had revenue of $393.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Universal Logistics will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Universal Logistics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Universal Logistics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Logistics by 15,197.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 7,143 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Universal Logistics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $248,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Universal Logistics by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 33,657 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $883,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Universal Logistics by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,090 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Logistics by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,142 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.