STOCK

Protrucker, you are right.

The online bank was just an example of what UPS returns on your investment.

What I was trying to say was, there are other avenues to take that have comparable returns, less risk, and quick access in an emergency.

[UPS Lifer]

Originally Posted by rod

... A LOT of management became overnight millionaires when the company went public and the stock did split. I just recently sold my shares that I was "allowed" to finally purchase for 27 bucks for $74.68 - not bad but no where near the $1680 that is being quoted here. It would of been great though if we had really been a true part of the company.

I think that it is important to note that there were a lot of drivers that have become millionaires also! These were the drivers that converted their holdings in the Thrift Plan into stock. Another important note, it took the stock 25 plus years to get to the point ($1680) that I mentioned. Even if 25 years from now the stock is worth $500 a share that would be significant. Is it possible? Why not?

[brownmonster]

Rod, the stock you bought in 1996 was actually $13.50 a share with the split adjustment.

[rod]

Originally Posted by brownmonster

Rod, the stock you bought in 1996 was actually $13.50 a share with the split adjustment.

All I know is that it wasn't worth anywhere near the $1680 figure that was quoted here. Oh by the way $500 a share in 25 years? What is this guy smoking? I predict in 25 years UPS stock will be worth between 70 to 75 bucks.

[UPS Lifer]

Originally Posted by rod

All I know is that it wasn't worth anywhere near the $1680 figure that was quoted here. Oh by the way $500 a share in 25 years? What is this guy smoking? I predict in 25 years UPS stock will be worth between 70 to 75 bucks.

Rod,
In 1977, my father-in-law sold his house in CA for $75K. I told him to hang on to it and rent it out. He bought it for $24K and told me there was no way this house would ever get any higher. Well he is 83 now and has no money. Oh, that same house is worth about $900K now. If I would have told him that back in 1977 he would have had me committed!

Obviously, you have little faith that UPS will be worth much in 25 years...and that is OK. All I am saying is don't be surprised if history repeats itself. There are very few companies that make it over 100 years and I think that UPS is positioning itself strongly in the International arena.

[rod]

Originally Posted by UPS Lifer

Rod,
In 1977, my father-in-law sold his house in CA for $75K. I told him to hang on to it and rent it out. He bought it for $24K and told me there was no way this house would ever get any higher. Well he is 83 now and has no money. Oh, that same house is worth about $900K now. If I would have told him that back in 1977 he would have had me committed!

Obviously, you have little faith that UPS will be worth much in 25 years...and that is OK. All I am saying is don't be surprised if history repeats itself. There are very few companies that make it over 100 years and I think that UPS is positioning itself strongly in the International arena.

I really do hope your line of thinking is right for the sake of a lot of my friends that still work for the Brown Machine. Out of curiosity have you priced that house latley? If it's like the real estate market around here you can cut about a third off of that $900 thousand

[UPS Lifer]

Originally Posted by rod

I really do hope your line of thinking is right for the sake of a lot of my friends that still work for the Brown Machine. Out of curiosity have you priced that house latley? If it's like the real estate market around here you can cut about a third off of that $900 thousand

No, I have not priced it lately. However, I have priced mine and 30% is about right. Talk about sticker shock in a different way WOW!. My brother has a chapter (2 pages!) in one of Trump's books "The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received" and he says take your profits and run. The experts are saying that the next 6 months look even bleaker. Nothing but good news!!!

[moreluck]

Excerpts from Trading Markets.com.............

The right stocks, according to the TradingMarkets approach to investing, are high PowerRatings (for Investors) stocks, stocks with an 8, 9 or 10 rating. Similarly, when looking for industries that are on the upswing, we want to stay "in the green" with industries earning PowerRatings (for Industries) ratings of 8, 9, or 10.

Last up is the Air Delivery and Freight Services industry, which features a PowerRatings (for Industries) rating of 9. Members of this industry have revolutionized the way goods and services are provided and accessed around the world. Although this industry includes companies such as FedEx (NYSE:FDX - News), with its PowerRatings (for Investors) rating of 7, the best stock in this group right now is United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - News). With a PowerRating (for Investors) rating of 8, UPS has expanded its business from the delivery of packages and documents to include freight forwarding, customs brokerage and even financial transactions.

[moreluck]

$80 Target on UPS Shares
Friday, January 04, 2008; Posted: 07:10 AM
Jan 04, 2008 (Zacks _Investment_
(http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/957070/#) Research via COMTEX) -- -- Advising investors to
accumulate the name, Zacks senior service industry analyst Ann H. Heffron, CFA
explains her bullish viewpoint about United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), as well
as the reasons as to why the future looks bright for the delivery company:'We
are continuing our Buy on United Parcel Service, Inc., as well as our $80
target price as we continue to believe the stock is undervalued. UPS is
expected to report fourth quarter earnings in late January. 'We are maintaining our
2007 EPS estimate at $4.20, a penny above the high-end of the company
guidance that is calling for a 7-9% gain to $4.13-$4.19, as well as our recently
reduced 2008 estimate at $4.50. While the weaker US economy, slowing US volume
growth, and higher interest expense related to a $6.1 billion pension payment
will be earnings drags, rate hikes, expansion into China, recent acquisitions
and share repurchases should propel EPS growth. 'UPS reported third quarter
EPS of $1.05. Excellent international results and improved supply chain and
freight managed to offset challenging conditions in US small packages. We
believe the dividend is safe. At its current price, UPS is trading at a 7%
premium to the industry median P/E (versus a 4% premium at the time of our last
report on October 23, 2007), based on 2008 consensus estimated earnings. 'It is
trading at substantial premiums to the group based on price/sales and
price/book value. While UPSs projected 5-year earnings growth rate is below the
median of its peer group, its operating margin, dividend yield, and ROE are
significantly higher than all of its peers. Superior operating efficiency, _balance
sheet_ (http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/957070/#)
strength, and ROE justify a premium valuation to the peer group. Therefore, we
expect valuation to expand from currents levels and rate the shares as Buy. Our
price target is $80, based on roughly 17 1/2X our 2008 EPS estimate of
$4.50, representing a 20% premium to the peer group.

[blacknproud]

Originally Posted by mathematics

definitely go for it and don't touch or look at it until 30+ years from now. the 10% discount and reinvested dividends will make you a ton of money a long time from now. when i was an hourly, i put in $25 pre tax per pay period. as a sup, i put in $200 per pay period. you will be surprised by the compounding over the years. the dividend has steadily increased by 15% also, expected to keep growing by 10% as well. despite how people feel about the company, UPS is a cash generating machine. the new OPS in china are going to generate an insane amount of cash. the stock has a lot of room to grow.

1st of all it's more like a bank as long as you don't touch it, our stock has stayed pretty much the same for a while now...believe me I wish it would split, although I don't see that happening for a long long while...plus for union members (not sure on management) you have to wait 2 years to sell and it has to be converted to class B before you sell it. For me 40.00 a week along with 12% 401k and some other stuff (roths etc...) always remember diversity is the key, our stock will never tank, hopefully....but it is good to bank it. FDX has moved up and down dramatically UPS has stayed the same (basically)

[brownmonster]

Sold 100 shares 2 months ago. Bought a used car. Kid got rear ended by someone today. Looks like about 200$ damage, roughly the same as the stock went down since I sold. Suze would love my logic. BM

[FAVREFAN]

1d5d10d1m3m6mYTD1yr3yr5yr10yrMax Print chart
Chart from day 1 as publically traded company. Notice day 1 in November of '99. I remember that day, it was $76 & 5/8 as I remember.(before decimal system) Today it is hmmmm....let's see....um....$68.01(No splits) Pick the right spots and you could make a few bucks here and there as you can see above. Get in and get out. But as far as long term? It's a safety play. It will not outperform the S & P 500. We all made alot of money on that day in Nov. '99.(If you were smart and bought in before) But look at it since. $68 is a great price to get in but not long term......I'd be out in the $75-$79 range. It may go to $90 but will eventually return to the upper $70's or low, low 80's. Dividend is 1% below inflation(3.5% inf. assumption over time) and if the stock goes nowhere you're losing money. Even with the 10% discount you could lose because the stock is down 12% from day 1. If you started right after 911 you have done better but let's not kid ourselves here people, don't be biased toward the company and mess up people's long term financial well being and tell co-workers to pour all of their savings into the stock. Put some money into it, a small portion of your whole portfolio. But any financial advisor would argue against pouring all your investment dollars into this stock or any one stock. As said before in this thread. DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY. Max your 401(k). Then buy some UPS stock. It's a safe stock but has very, very slow growth. Happy investing.

[moreluck]

Press Release

Source: UPS

UPS Adopts New Financial Policy to Enhance Shareholder Value
Wednesday January 9, 4:05 pm ET

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UPS (NYSE: UPS - News) today announced its Board of Directors has approved a change in financial policy regarding the company’s capital structure designed to enhance UPS’s value to shareowners. Under the new policy, UPS intends to significantly increase the debt component of its balance sheet.
Going forward, the company intends to manage its balance sheet to a target debt ratio within a range of 50-to-60% funds-from-operations-to-total-debt. Previously, there was no stated metric.
“We have been studying our capital structure options for some time,” said Kurt Kuehn, UPS’s chief financial officer. “This change in policy will permit us to make increased investments in the business, pursue selective acquisitions and undertake larger share repurchases.”
To begin implementation of the new policy, the Board authorized an immediate increase in the amount of funds available for stock repurchases from approximately $2 billion to $10 billion. The company intends to complete that level of share repurchases in the next 24 months. Repurchases may take the form of an accelerated share repurchase program, open market purchases or such other methods as the Board deems appropriate.
“UPS has had a long-standing commitment to a very strong balance sheet for decades and that will not change,” added Scott Davis, UPS’s chairman and CEO. “Indeed, we are putting that balance sheet strength to work to more efficiently deploy capital for the benefit of our shareowners. UPS’s consistent, stable cash flows mean we can accept a higher degree of debt while continuing to strategically grow our business.”
UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS's stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS) and the company can be found on the Web at UPS.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of UPS and its management regarding the company's capital structure, dividend payments, earnings growth, share repurchases, investments in its business, value to shareowners and future results, involve certain risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, governmental regulations, our competitive environment, strikes, work stoppages and slowdowns, increases in aviation and motor fuel prices, cyclical and seasonal fluctuations in our operating results, and other risks discussed in the company's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated herein by reference.

[brownmonster]

Good to see our "non UPS lifer" CEO is willing to mix it up a bit.

I love the heading of the press release:

"UPS Adopts New Financial Policy to Enhance Shareholder Value"


Sweet new policy by Mr. Davis! I just wish he'd have told Eskew about it the "enhancing shareholder value" thing a few years back.

[govols019]

This change in policy will permit us to make increased investments in the business

Does that mean they will crush all the non-powering steering cars?

[Baba gounj]

Only the standard shift ones.
I've been told by automotive that the entire fleet is going automatic.
( because they can't find anyone to fix what we now have )

[Griff]

Originally Posted by govols019

Does that mean they will crush all the non-powering steering cars?

Doubt it. The truck I'm driving right now is literally older than me according to the registration. I smell gas fumes all day long and I can't drive back to the building with the doors shut because I start to feel effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. Remember, safety is priority one at UPS.

[FAVREFAN]

Originally Posted by Baba gounj

Only the standard shift ones.
I've been told by automotive that the entire fleet is going automatic.
( because they can't find anyone to fix what we now have )

The automatics are much, much more fuel efficient. Saves the co. money.