United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Upgraded to Neutral at Bank of America

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Friday. The firm currently has a $114.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.54% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on UPS. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.41.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $107.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. United Parcel Service has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $136.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.02. The company has a market capitalization of $90.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.11.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $21.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.94 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 40.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,277,988 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,619,730,000 after buying an additional 372,850 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,063,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,594,713,000 after acquiring an additional 288,720 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,792,139 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,603,459,000 after purchasing an additional 746,667 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,623,834 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,675,733,000 after purchasing an additional 762,407 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $851,842,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.