12 Best Beaten Down Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53

52-Week Low: $82

Stock Price: $84.05

United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is one of the Best Beaten Down Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. On October 14, Stephens analyst Reed Seay reduced the price target on the company’s stock to $86 from $92, while keeping an “Equal Weight” rating, as reported by The Fly. The analyst highlighted that United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) has been winding down its volumes from Amazon. Furthermore, the analyst expects continued pressure among SMBs and B2B customers because of the macro headwinds.

Elsewhere, United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) and American Express announced an expanded agreement to support small businesses in growing and driving commerce in their communities. Notably, both companies are rolling out new and exclusive offers to help SMBs. Amidst the busy holiday season on the cards, merchants are allowed to access exclusive savings from UPS through American Express’ Business Savings Suite. Such savings span UPS air, ground, and international shipping options and enable SMBs to save more while shipping more with UPS.

River Road Asset Management, an investment management company, released its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“As of December 31, the portfolio held 29 positions, up four positions from Q3. During Q4, the largest sector increase was 736 bps within industrials, while the largest decrease was -276 bps within consumer discretionary. We established five new positions and eliminated one position

We also initiated a position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) (Cl B) (UPS, 3.0 conviction), the world’s largest package delivery company, which handles over six billion packages annually and can reach 90% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) within a day. After years of elevated network investments to expand capacity, UPS has refocused its strategy on growing return on invested capital (ROIC). We believe the stock will rerate higher as margins, which we believe have bottomed, are expected to expand with the price per package growing faster than the cost per package. In the interim, investors collect a 5% dividend, which has grown in 21 out of 24 years since UPS went public. The dividend is supported by healthy free cash flow and an investment grade balance sheet with ~1x net leverage.”