United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $151.29.

Several equities analysts have commented on UPS shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In related news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Czech National Bank lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 9.2% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 138,993 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,021,000 after acquiring an additional 11,736 shares during the last quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service in the 2nd quarter worth $238,000. Sharp Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 2nd quarter worth $318,000. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 84.6% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 5,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 26,697 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Down 0.8 %

UPS opened at $129.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. United Parcel Service has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Parcel Service will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 98.49%.

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.