11 Blue Chip Stocks to Invest in at 52-Week Lows

6. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Stock Price as of March 25: $109.95

52-week Low: $109.4

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is a package delivery and logistics provider that provides transportation and delivery services. The cyclical recovery in the transportation sector is expected to offer significant tailwinds for the company. With the economic activity picking up, there seems to be an increase in both B2B and B2C shipping volumes. This increase in demand can enable United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) to better utilize the network capacity, improving operational efficiency and potentially fueling margins. Also, a recovery in the economy often results in higher industrial production and trade, which can fuel growth for the company.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s global network and comprehensive service offerings place the company well to capitalize on an overall economic recovery. For FY 2025, on a consolidated basis, the company anticipates revenue to be ~$89.0 billion and an operating margin of ~10.8%. The company’s strategic investments, primarily in the SMB market and healthcare logistics, can fuel significant long-term growth. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) announced that it has completed the acquisition of Frigo-Trans and its sister company BPL, which offer industry-leading, complex healthcare logistics solutions throughout Europe.

Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its Q3 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“We made no new purchases in Q3. Instead, our purchase activity was focused on adding to a few of our existing names that remain cheap, such as Dollar General and United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS). When we initiated our position in UPS in late 2023, shares were under pressure due to concerns about its new labor contract diverting volumes and driving up costs, as well as the continued normalization of volumes following COVID-related gains. We welcomed the market’s short-term focus as it provided us an opportunity to purchase UPS at an undemanding valuation of less than 11X our view of normalized earnings. UPS is a good transport operation that easily earns its cost of capital, generates significant free cash, has a wide economic moat, has a strong financial profile and pays an attractive dividend—now yielding 4.8%. More recently, the stock has been weak because profits came in weaker than expected. UPS’ customers traded down to the lower yielding ground segment, which negatively impacted overall pricing and margins. These shifts are common and occur in both directions, but what is important, in our view, is the long-term trend of volume growth remains intact. Nevertheless, investors have lost patience with UPS after a string of earnings disappointments.”