Citigroup upgraded UPS to "buy," and raised its price-target to $250
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is up 0.9% to trade at $205.58 this morning, after the shipping giant earned an upgrade from Citigroup to "buy" from "neutral," and a price-target hike to $250 from $245. The analyst in question noted the company's strong domestic growth prospects, and that UPS is now moving to reduce risks associated with Amazon.com (AMZN) being one of its largest customers.
Analysts were evenly split towards the equity coming into today, with 10 sporting a "strong buy" rating, while the remaining 10 said "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus target price of $230.91 is a 12.6% premium to the stock's current perch.
United Parcel Service stock has taken a 7% breather from its Oct. 26 all-time high of $220.13. The shares' 200-day moving average contained the damage earlier this month, though, and year-to-date UPS still boasts a 22% lead.
What's more, UPS sports attractively priced premiums. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 25% sits higher than 22% of readings from the last 12 months, suggesting options players are pricing in low volatility expectations for the security at the moment.
It is also worth noting the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 98 out of 100. This means UPS has exceeded options traders' volatility expectations in the past year.