United Parcel Service (UPS) closed at $97.42 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.01% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.97%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.08%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the package delivery service had lost 6.7% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Transportation sector's loss of 6.93% and lagged the S&P 500's loss of 3.04% in that time.
UPS will be looking to display strength as it nears its nex t earnings release, which is expected to be February 7, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.91, up 14.37% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $19.92 billion, up 5.81% from the year-ago period.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for UPS. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 0.86% lower. UPS is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that UPS has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.58 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.04.
Meanwhile, UPS's PEG ratio is currently 1.36. 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. The Transportation - Air Freight and Cargo industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.09 as of yesterday's close.
The Transportation - Air Freight and Cargo industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 233, putting it in the bottom 9% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS): Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
