Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) Shares Up 3.6%

Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULH)’s stock price shot up 3.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $33.51 and last traded at $33.36. 17,761 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 27,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ULH. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Universal Logistics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Logistics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Universal Logistics Trading Up 4.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $881.35 million, a PE ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The transportation company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $390.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.30 million. Universal Logistics had a net margin of 5.59% and a return on equity of 18.58%. On average, analysts predict that Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Logistics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.105 dividend. 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 1.25%. Universal Logistics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Logistics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ULH. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Logistics by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115,321 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,264,000 after purchasing an additional 295,701 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Universal Logistics during the fourth quarter worth about $3,361,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Universal Logistics by 29.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 410,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,031,000 after acquiring an additional 92,662 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Universal Logistics by 582.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,098,000 after acquiring an additional 90,704 shares during the period. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Universal Logistics during the second quarter worth about $2,607,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.50% of the company’s stock.

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.