Bank of America Upgrades United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) to Buy

Bank of America upgraded shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $150.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on UPS. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $129.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $110.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service has a 52 week low of $121.56 and a 52 week high of $161.35.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total value of $1,015,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPS. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 284.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,569,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $351,681,000 after buying an additional 1,901,914 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 833.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,074,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $282,783,000 after buying an additional 1,851,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,772,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,091 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.