United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares shot up 1.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $115.60 and last traded at $115.70. 1,061,035 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,651,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on UPS. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $141.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $98.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.96.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 39.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.67%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 96.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after buying an additional 6,941 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $1,305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.