United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $110.20 and last traded at $110.08. Approximately 1,246,988 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 4,648,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UPS. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.83.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $93.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.65 and a 200-day moving average of $126.15.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centre Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the first quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 76,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 553.7% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 60,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,630,000 after buying an additional 51,059 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 638,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,240,000 after buying an additional 36,135 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 15,997 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,760,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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.