United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) Short Interest Up 603.2% in July

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,400,000 shares, agrowthof603.2% from the June 30th total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 5,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

United Parcel Service Trading Down 1.9%

UPS opened at $84.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.09. United Parcel Service has a 12-month low of $84.28 and a 12-month high of $145.01.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 39.61%. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is presently 97.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa America decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $120.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Vertical Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $117.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Carol B. Tome purchased 11,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.67 per share, with a total value of $1,000,796.94. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,591.06. This trade represents a 89.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Johnson purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $86.50 per share, for a total transaction of $432,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,160 shares in the company, valued at $878,840. The trade was a 96.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Parcel Service

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,136,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,274,323,000 after purchasing an additional 999,832 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,045,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,754,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,807 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,895,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,373,964,000 after purchasing an additional 268,278 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 124.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,011,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $991,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,988,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 0.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,415,523 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $815,633,000 after purchasing an additional 23,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.