StockNews.com Downgrades United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) to Hold

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

UPS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on United Parcel Service from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W lowered United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $166.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE UPS opened at $116.83 on Tuesday. United Parcel Service has a twelve month low of $109.40 and a twelve month high of $158.95. The firm has a market cap of $99.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 39.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 108,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,793,000 after acquiring an additional 30,815 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 119.4% during the 3rd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 22,526 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 12,259 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1,408.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 32,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,368,000 after purchasing an additional 30,603 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 118,652 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,177,000 after purchasing an additional 55,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,151 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.