United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Upgraded to “Buy” at Argus

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup started coverage on United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $162.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.71.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of UPS traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $132.87. 928,349 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,170,443. The company has a market cap of $113.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.46. United Parcel Service has a 52-week low of $123.12 and a 52-week high of $163.82.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 284.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,569,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $351,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901,914 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after buying an additional 1,620,091 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC acquired a new position in United Parcel Service during the 1st quarter valued at about $160,787,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 5,136.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,079,964 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $147,242,000 after buying an additional 1,059,339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.