FedEx Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FDX)

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 23,166 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 21% compared to the typical daily volume of 19,084 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut FedEx from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Hsbc Global Res lowered FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of FedEx from $305.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.68.

FedEx Stock Down 1.5 %

FedEx stock opened at $273.16 on Thursday. FedEx has a twelve month low of $234.45 and a twelve month high of $313.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $282.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.70. The firm has a market cap of $66.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($1.22). The company had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. FedEx’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.55 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that FedEx will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of FedEx by 473.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,147,540,000 after acquiring an additional 647,926 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FedEx by 34.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $674,336,000 after purchasing an additional 578,350 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 8.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,042,050,000 after purchasing an additional 314,380 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2,163.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $52,667,000 after purchasing an additional 183,940 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in FedEx by 77.8% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 368,107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $101,022,000 after buying an additional 161,022 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.