(NYSE: UPS) currently sports a dividend yield of slightly more than 4%, and it has good long-term growth stocks, but is it the kind of dividend stock investors should be buying? The answer is yes and no, depending on your tolerance for near-term risk. Here's what you need to know before buying the stock.

Don't buy UPS if you can't stomach the potential for near-term risk. Package delivery companies are cyclical, meaning their delivery volumes and earnings depend on economic activity. In addition, customers often shift to lower-cost delivery options in periods of lower economic growth.

As shown below, UPS's lower-cost ground service volumes and revenue declined significantly less than the higher-cost deferred and next-day air services. That led to revenue in the U.S. domestic package segment to decline by 6.3% in the first nine months compared to the same period last year.

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Source Fool.com