Citigroup Begins Coverage on United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS)

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $162.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 21.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $169.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $168.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.24.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS stock opened at $132.85 on Wednesday. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $123.12 and a one year high of $163.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $129.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.99.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.20). United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 35.27% and a net margin of 5.87%. The company had revenue of $21.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service will post 7.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of United Parcel Service stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $128.61 per share, for a total transaction of $643,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,160 shares in the company, valued at $663,627.60. This represents a 3,100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 9,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,212 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 9,113 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,354,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.