United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading 0.1% Higher – What’s Next?

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s share price traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $132.28 and last traded at $131.71. 439,208 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 4,160,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $163.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $168.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Parcel Service has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.27 and its 200-day moving average is $134.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $113.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.99.

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

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,921 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 3.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after acquiring an additional 380,229 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in United Parcel Service by 6.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,671,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,556,000 after acquiring an additional 406,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,490,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $888,254,000 after acquiring an additional 20,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

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.