United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $151.52.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W raised United Parcel Service to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPS. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,580 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,578,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.5% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 15,845 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 5.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 17,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,385,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in United Parcel Service by 52.8% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 369,597 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,391,000 after purchasing an additional 127,734 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,027 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.0 %

United Parcel Service stock opened at $135.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service has a fifty-two week low of $123.12 and a fifty-two week high of $163.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.51. The firm has a market cap of $115.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

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.