United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Upgraded to Buy at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $170.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $150.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on UPS. Raymond James dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Parcel Service from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $154.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $165.23.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

Shares of United Parcel Service stock opened at $147.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $125.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.90. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $133.68 and a one year high of $192.98.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 8.23 EPS for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.49%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto acquired 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPS. MWA Asset Management purchased a new position in United Parcel Service during the third quarter worth approximately $2,125,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.3% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,886 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 387,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,908,000 after purchasing an additional 44,721 shares in the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,184 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,148,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% during the third quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,587,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

About United Parcel Service

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.