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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Universal Logistics (ULH) from a "sell" to a "hold," but MarketBeat's consensus still shows a "Reduce" rating with an average price target of $17.00.
• Earnings beat: ULH reported Q results with $0.14 EPS vs. ($0.05) expected and $385.43M revenue vs. $376.10M expected, although the company has a negative net margin and a negative P/E of -9.53.
• Shares opened at $14.48 with a market cap of about $381.6M, and institutional investors own roughly 25.5% of the stock after several funds recently increased or initiated positions.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Universal Logistics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal Logistics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Universal Logistics from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $17.00.

Universal Logistics Stock Performance

Shares of ULH stock opened at $14.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.17. The company has a market cap of $381.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 0.91. Universal Logistics has a 12-month low of $12.78 and a 12-month high of $30.76.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $385.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.10 million. Universal Logistics had a positive return on equity of 6.49% and a negative net margin of 2.46%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Universal Logistics will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Universal Logistics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ULH. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Universal Logistics by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 129,253 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,280,000 after purchasing an additional 39,633 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Logistics during the 1st quarter valued at $789,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Universal Logistics during the fourth quarter worth $340,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Universal Logistics by 208.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 31,703 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 21,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Logistics in the fourth quarter valued at $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.50% of the company's stock.

Universal Logistics Company Profile

Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc is a diversified, asset-light third-party logistics provider offering transportation and supply chain solutions across North America and around the globe. Its service portfolio encompasses truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal, and specialized freight services, supported by dedicated brokerage, warehousing, and distribution management capabilities.

Originally incorporated as Universal Truckload Services, Inc, the company has evolved beyond its core truckload heritage to a one-stop logistics platform.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.