United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-four research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $111.50.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore decreased their price target on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $902,446,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,818,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,370,639,000 after buying an additional 5,826,824 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 175.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,200,135 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $515,801,000 after buying an additional 3,314,166 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 507.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $321,796,000 after buying an additional 2,710,470 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 23.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,728,123 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $957,053,000 after buying an additional 1,836,651 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $107.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.05. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $82.00 and a one year high of $122.41.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 5.94%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 106.15%.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.