Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

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

Universal Logistics Stock Up 39.4 %

Shares of ULH traded up $12.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.84. 483,688 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,785. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.58. Universal Logistics has a 12-month low of $20.85 and a 12-month high of $48.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $390.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.30 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Universal Logistics will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Logistics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ULH. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Logistics during the fourth quarter valued at about $110,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Universal Logistics during the third quarter valued at about $171,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Universal Logistics during the third quarter valued at about $253,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Universal Logistics by 21.5% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Universal Logistics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares in the last quarter. 25.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.