United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.64 on March 5th

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of 1.64 per share by the transportation company on Thursday, March 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th.

United Parcel Service has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 16 years. United Parcel Service has a dividend payout ratio of 82.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities analysts expect United Parcel Service to earn $8.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.8%.

United Parcel Service Stock Up 0.9%

UPS stock opened at $119.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.03 and a 200-day moving average of $94.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.22. United Parcel Service has a one year low of $82.00 and a one year high of $123.70.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $24.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.91 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 38.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that United Parcel Service will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded United Parcel Service from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $88.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.67.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.