FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Shares Up 1.1% After Analyst Upgrade

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) shares were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after Bernstein Bank raised their price target on the stock from $305.00 to $337.00. Bernstein Bank currently has an overweight rating on the stock. FedEx traded as high as $259.44 and last traded at $257.43. Approximately 1,172,594 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,852,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.64.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley cut FedEx from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $215.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total value of $34,711.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 930 shares in the company, valued at $278,293.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total transaction of $747,115.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,646.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total transaction of $34,711.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,293.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,868,165 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $5,756,602,000 after buying an additional 1,056,061 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of FedEx by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,831,084 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,558,718,000 after buying an additional 2,163,622 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of FedEx by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $732,040,000 after buying an additional 798,084 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,258,579 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $654,401,000 after buying an additional 684,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $674,336,000 after buying an additional 578,350 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $292.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.17.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($1.22). The firm had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 20.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates through FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services segments. The FedEx Express segment offers express transportation, small-package ground delivery, and freight transportation services; and time-critical transportation services.