FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $275.00 price target on the shipping service provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $300.00.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FDX. TD Cowen reduced their price target on FedEx from $337.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $331.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of FedEx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $337.00 to $316.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on FedEx from $330.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.60.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDX opened at $242.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.04. The company has a market cap of $58.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. FedEx has a one year low of $217.22 and a one year high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total transaction of $1,100,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,510.80. This trade represents a 30.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total value of $713,371.68. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $807,352,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $234,028,000. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $3,907,568,000 after buying an additional 734,268 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $145,733,000. Finally, ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 852,767 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $239,909,000 after acquiring an additional 329,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Company Profile

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.