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

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

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

Universal Logistics Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Universal Logistics stock opened at $31.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $836.13 million, a P/E ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Universal Logistics has a one year low of $20.85 and a one year high of $38.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.08.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.30 million. Universal Logistics had a net margin of 5.59% and a return on equity of 18.58%. On average, analysts forecast that Universal Logistics will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Logistics Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Universal Logistics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Logistics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Universal Logistics by 8.3% during the 4th 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 period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Universal Logistics during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Logistics by 318.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,999 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 8,371 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Logistics by 36.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Logistics by 3.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. 25.50% of the stock is 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.