Should You Investigate Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULH) At US$38.33?

Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULH), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in the past couple of months on the NASDAQGS. As a small cap stock, hardly covered by any analysts, there is generally more of an opportunity for mispricing as there is less activity to push the stock closer to fair value. Is there still an opportunity here to buy? Let’s examine Universal Logistics Holdings’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.

Check out the opportunities and risks within the US Transportation industry.

Is Universal Logistics Holdings Still Cheap?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Universal Logistics Holdings’s ratio of 6.65x is trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 10.03x, which means if you buy Universal Logistics Holdings today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe Universal Logistics Holdings should be trading in this range, then there isn’t much room for the share price to grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Universal Logistics Holdings’s share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

What kind of growth will Universal Logistics Holdings generate?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by a double-digit 11% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Universal Logistics Holdings. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in ULH’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at ULH? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on ULH, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for ULH, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

If you'd like to know more about Universal Logistics Holdings as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Universal Logistics Holdings and you'll want to know about this.

If you are no longer interested in Universal Logistics Holdings, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.