Back to top

Image: Bigstock

United Parcel Service (UPS) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, United Parcel Service (UPS - Free Report) closed at $179.67, marking a +0.7% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.05%.

Coming into today, shares of the package delivery service had lost 9.59% in the past month. In that same time, the Transportation sector lost 6.68%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.07%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from UPS as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.53, up 10.96% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $22.71 billion, up 6.93% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.16 per share and revenue of $94.69 billion, which would represent changes of +35.6% and +11.89%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UPS should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% lower. UPS currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Looking at its valuation, UPS is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 15.98. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.9.

Investors should also note that UPS has a PEG ratio of 1.37 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Transportation - Air Freight and Cargo stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.37 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Transportation - Air Freight and Cargo industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 249, putting it in the bottom 2% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) - free report >>

Published in