Morgan Stanley Increases FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Price Target to $215.00

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the shipping service provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential downside of 27.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on FDX. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of FedEx to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.00.

FedEx Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $295.47 on Wednesday. FedEx has a 12-month low of $224.69 and a 12-month high of $296.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. FedEx’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that FedEx will post 20.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other FedEx news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total transaction of $368,668.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,614 shares in the company, valued at $23,542,999.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total transaction of $703,009.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. 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 1,325 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total transaction of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,542,999.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 117,275 shares of company stock worth $32,177,298 in the last 90 days. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazari Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in FedEx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $288,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 0.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,496 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 148,573 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $42,610,000 after purchasing an additional 46,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the first quarter worth about $89,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.