Wolfe Research Upgrades United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) to Outperform

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $147.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on UPS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Parcel Service from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.10.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $126.70 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service has a 1 year low of $122.01 and a 1 year high of $161.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 37.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 254.8% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 72,867 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,969,000 after purchasing an additional 52,329 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.9% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 295,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,393,000 after acquiring an additional 5,544 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 122,183 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,721,000 after acquiring an additional 12,200 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 81,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,135,000 after purchasing an additional 5,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. grew its position in United Parcel Service by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 13,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during 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.