United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) Upgraded at HSBC

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) was upgraded by stock analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, FinViz reports. The brokerage currently has a $170.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. HSBC’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on UPS. TheStreet upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $178.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.96.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $146.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. United Parcel Service has a 1 year low of $133.68 and a 1 year high of $192.98. The company has a market cap of $125.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $149.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.03.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 37.42%. United Parcel Service’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other news, Director Eva C. Boratto bought 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $142.30 per share, with a total value of $199,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPS. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 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.