United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Price Target Cut to $123.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) had its price objective reduced by Citigroup from $149.00 to $123.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on UPS. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of United Parcel Service from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on United Parcel Service from $133.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.32.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $91.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.14. United Parcel Service has a 12 month low of $90.71 and a 12 month high of $153.42.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parcel Service

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in United Parcel Service by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 829,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $113,064,000 after acquiring an additional 33,989 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the 4th quarter worth approximately $461,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 8.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 87,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 131,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 28,108 shares during the period. 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.