United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $183.00 to $179.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $170.00 to $151.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $154.95.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $127.08 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service has a 12-month low of $124.80 and a 12-month high of $189.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. The business had revenue of $21.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Johnson bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $128.61 per share, with a total value of $643,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,631.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,502,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,280,190,000 after purchasing an additional 14,410,073 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,152,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,854,180,000 after acquiring an additional 8,475,698 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,128,322,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 208.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,717,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $270,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the first quarter valued at approximately $160,787,000. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.