United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares rose 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $126.96 and last traded at $126.96. Approximately 473,507 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 4,204,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.29.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $131.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. On average, analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 98.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $232,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. now owns 14,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 6,073 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.