Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co Makes New Investment in United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS

Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co bought a new position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 14,574 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UPS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Parcel Service during the 4th quarter worth approximately $902,446,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,818,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,370,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,826,824 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 175.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,200,135 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $515,801,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314,166 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 507.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,244,234 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $321,796,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Parcel Service in the fourth quarter valued at $181,951,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Parcel Service News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting United Parcel Service this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target on UPS to $133 from $130 and reiterated an outperform rating, signaling upside confidence ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect UPS to have a chance to beat upcoming quarterly earnings expectations, supported by the right mix of improving per-package revenue and cost cuts.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus is centered on updated guidance, and any stronger-than-expected outlook could further support the shares after recent weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary notes UPS has been moving alongside broader transportation-sector earnings expectations, with traders watching for confirmation in the Q2 report. United Parcel Service Inc. Cl B stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Recent articles also point to lower shipping volumes and pricing pressure from fuel surcharges and competition, including Amazon’s expanding delivery network, which could weigh on margins. Fuel surcharges wallop FedEx, UPS shippers as Amazon looms

United Parcel Service Stock Up 2.8%

UPS opened at $116.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $98.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.36. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.00 and a 52 week high of $122.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. United Parcel Service’s payout ratio is 106.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPS. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.50.

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.