We recently published a list of 10 Worst Blue Chip Stocks to Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) stands against other worst blue chip stocks to buy.
As per Niamh Brodie-Machura, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Fidelity International, the effect of tariffs is expected to shift lower as and when the deals are made, supply chains adapt, and there is some adjustment in consumption patterns with lower tariffed goods witnessing relatively increased demand. However, there continues to be a period of increased volatility, and investors who plan to add risk should be careful. The environment is more of an opportunity to better position portfolios for resilience amidst uncertainty.
Market Rotation and Opportunity Areas
Contrary to expectations, BlackRock, in its release dated April 23, highlighted that international equities outperformed the US equities by 11% in 2025. The US growth stocks fell by 10%, and US value stocks increased by 2%. This transition demonstrates a significant market rotation throughout geography and style as value stocks continue to gain favor over growth stocks. Within the US market, value equities, mainly in defensive sectors such as healthcare, have been performing well, says the asset manager.
BlackRock also added that the narrowing of the earnings gap and the industry’s attractive characteristics, like innovation and the growth of aging populations, have been fueling the performance. Notably, active management strategies are advantageous when it comes to navigating the fluctuating markets.
READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.
What Should Investors Do?
BlackRock believes that the US large-cap value equities are the only major US index having positive returns YTD through March 31. Among the value equities, its investors are spotting opportunities in defensive sectors. In the current fast-moving political environment, primarily new trade policies, value equities can possess an additional tailwind. This stems from their ability to fetch a greater share of revenue from the US.
Elsewhere, if tariff discussions continue longer than expected or the average tariff rates differ from the current expectations, it is important to make portfolio changes accordingly, says Fiduciary Trust (a privately held wealth management firm). Notably, the capex spending on AI is expected to remain strong, and AI will likely fuel long-term productivity. The firm also opines that changes will be made to bank capital ratio rules, enabling them to enhance lending and/or increase stock buybacks. Both of these measures can improve earnings.
Our Methodology
To list the 10 Worst Blue Chip Stocks to Buy, we scanned through the holdings of SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust and chose the ones that declined between 15%-30% on a YTD basis. After getting an extended list of stocks, we selected the ones popular among hedge funds. Finally, the stocks were ranked in ascending order of their hedge fund holdings, as of Q4 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A warehouse filled with boxes of parcels, symbolizing the companies reliable logistics services.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
% Decline on a YTD Basis: ~22.6%
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is a package delivery and logistics provider that provides transportation and delivery services. Analyst Fadi Chamoun from BMO Capital maintained a “Buy” rating on the company’s stock, having a price objective of $125.00. This rating highlights the company’s strategic initiatives and financial performance. Despite the tough macroeconomic environment, United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s Q1 2025 results marginally surpassed expectations. The analyst opines that this was aided by healthy performance in the US Domestic segment.
Furthermore, its emphasis on cost reduction and capital reallocation towards higher-margin supply chain solutions, like healthcare, can mitigate macroeconomic headwinds and enhance its overall profitability. Chamoun also added that, despite some short-term pressures, United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)’s strategic transition from lower-margin B2C volumes towards higher-value-added products can be beneficial for the company’s margins and ROIC over the long run. Overall, such strategic steps and targeted cost savings strengthen the analyst’s confidence in the company’s future performance.
Elsewhere, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “Equal weight” rating and gave a price objective of $98.00 on the company’s stock on April 22. 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.”
Overall, UPS ranks 9th on our list of worst blue chip stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of UPS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than UPS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
