Loop Capital Downgrades FedEx (NYSE:FDX) to Sell

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Loop Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $221.00 price target on the shipping service provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $283.00. Loop Capital’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 4.02% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler downgraded FedEx to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on FedEx in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on FedEx in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $337.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on FedEx from $328.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.67.

FedEx Price Performance

NYSE:FDX opened at $230.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $259.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.49. The company has a market cap of $55.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. FedEx has a 52-week low of $217.22 and a 52-week high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. FedEx’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FedEx will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, EVP John W. Dietrich purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This represents a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,984,589.98. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in FedEx by 3.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,308 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in FedEx by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A increased its holdings in FedEx by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 7,925 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in FedEx by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,365 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. increased its holdings in FedEx by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 3,400 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.