United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $150.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UPS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE UPS opened at $127.42 on Thursday. United Parcel Service has a 52 week low of $121.56 and a 52 week high of $161.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.01. 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 cap of $108.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. United Parcel Service’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 397.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Parcel Service by 232.3% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 720.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 408.2% in the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 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.