United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on United Parcel Service from $158.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W cut United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.0 %

UPS stock opened at $119.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $101.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $121.94 and a 200-day moving average of $127.88.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,136,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,213,699,000 after acquiring an additional 370,705 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after acquiring an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,264,665 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,933,674,000 after buying an additional 1,337,058 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,704,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,979,695,000 after buying an additional 414,710 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,979,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,384,567,000 after buying an additional 1,484,452 shares during the period. 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.