United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Shares Up 0.9% – Should You Buy?

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) shot up 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $127.76 and last traded at $126.98. 867,094 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 4,094,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UPS. StockNews.com upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.22 and a 200-day moving average of $131.01. The firm has a market cap of $108.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NYSE:UPS) last released its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 98.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. The trade was a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 2,369 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 165,693 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,894,000 after acquiring an additional 36,142 shares in the last quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,445 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 5,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. 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.