United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shares were up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $117.19 and last traded at $116.61. Approximately 1,020,868 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 4,480,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UPS shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on United Parcel Service in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $119.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.09.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.00.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during 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. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after buying an additional 28,108 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.