Investors Buy Large Volume of United Parcel Service Call Options (NYSE:UPS)

Key Points

• United Parcel Service saw unusually heavy options activity, with investors buying 34,148 call options on Thursday, about 33% above the average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, as Citigroup raised its price target to $132 and reiterated a Buy rating, while Stephens upgraded UPS to Strong Buy.
• Despite some cautious views on growth, dividends, and competition, UPS recently beat earnings expectations and trades near its 52-week range, with a 5.9% dividend yield drawing investor attention.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 34,148 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 33% compared to the average daily volume of 25,672 call options.

Trending Headlines about United Parcel Service

Here are the key news stories impacting United Parcel Service this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on UPS to $132 from $127 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence that the stock still has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens upgraded UPS to Strong Buy, adding to the improving analyst sentiment around the company.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted UPS’s strong earnings-surprise history and said the company has the ingredients for another quarterly beat, which could support the shares ahead of results. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks piece said UPS is attracting investor attention, suggesting the stock is seeing elevated interest from market participants. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A FreightWaves report said the U.S. Postal Service is shifting more long-distance mail to air to avoid penalties tied to a UPS volume contract. While this underscores UPS’s negotiating leverage, it also highlights distortions in postal operations rather than a direct earnings catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary remains cautious, with one analyst downgrading UPS to Hold and warning of muted revenue growth and bottom-line pressure into FY2026.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish coverage also continues to question dividend sustainability and margins, citing competition from Amazon logistics and weak free cash flow.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPS. Stephens raised shares of United Parcel Service to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.10.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

NYSE UPS traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $111.91. 1,557,040 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,020,810. United Parcel Service has a 52 week low of $82.00 and a 52 week high of $122.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $105.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.48.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $902,446,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,818,314 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,370,639,000 after buying an additional 5,826,824 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 175.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,200,135 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $515,801,000 after buying an additional 3,314,166 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 507.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $321,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,728,123 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $957,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,651 shares during the period. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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