United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Trading Up 2.5% - Time to Buy?

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) shot up 2.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $102.82 and last traded at $103.38. 800,350 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,211,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on UPS. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Galvan Research cut their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. HSBC lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $119.13.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $99.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $88.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.21.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.25 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 40.15%. United Parcel Service's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. United Parcel Service's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.63%.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,126 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 46,258 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,833,000 after purchasing an additional 7,821 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 15,719 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 354.6% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 23,965 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,022,000 after purchasing an additional 18,693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.