Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ULH. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Logistics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Universal Logistics from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Universal Logistics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Universal Logistics Price Performance

Shares of Universal Logistics stock opened at $16.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Universal Logistics has a 1-year low of $12.78 and a 1-year high of $30.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $426.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.53 and a beta of 0.91.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 13th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $385.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.10 million. Universal Logistics had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 4.13%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Logistics will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Logistics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Logistics during the first quarter valued at about $789,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Logistics by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 108,268 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 5,136 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Logistics by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 193,413 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,910,000 after acquiring an additional 8,039 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Universal Logistics by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 6,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Logistics by 5.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 262,597 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,665,000 after purchasing an additional 13,860 shares during the period. 25.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.