United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $122.33 and last traded at $122.65, with a volume of 6260778 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $123.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UPS shares. UBS Group raised their target price on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.29.

United Parcel Service Trading Up 2.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $107.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $132.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.35.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. United Parcel Service’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.49%.

Insider Activity at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPS. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after purchasing an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,994,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares in 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.