FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $314.00.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on FedEx from $340.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, Director David P. Steiner sold 1,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.71, for a total value of $407,564.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,183 shares in the company, valued at $10,474,330.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, Director David P. Steiner sold 1,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.71, for a total transaction of $407,564.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,183 shares in the company, valued at $10,474,330.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,864 shares of company stock worth $37,677,934. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:FDX opened at $293.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. FedEx has a 12-month low of $224.69 and a 12-month high of $302.41. The firm has a market cap of $72.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.49.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 20.67 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This is a positive change from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

FedEx declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.