United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.63 on December 5th

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of 1.63 per share by the transportation company on Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th.

United Parcel Service has raised its dividend by an average of 17.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. United Parcel Service has a payout ratio of 74.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect United Parcel Service to earn $8.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.6%.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UPS opened at $134.17 on Friday. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $123.12 and a one year high of $163.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on UPS shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $162.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.71.

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.