United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $110.85.

UPS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut United Parcel Service from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 0.0%

UPS opened at $110.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.25. United Parcel Service has a fifty-two week low of $82.00 and a fifty-two week high of $122.41. The company has a market cap of $94.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPS. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 16.1% in the second quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 28.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC now owns 13,805 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,510,630 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $345,376,000 after buying an additional 266,396 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 2,658 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.