FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $301.33.

Several research firms recently issued reports on FDX. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other FedEx news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,192.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FDX. Sentry LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at $1,811,748,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at about $700,291,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $496,611,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of FedEx by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,076,619,000 after buying an additional 916,555 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,686,738,000 after buying an additional 880,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDX opened at $262.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23. FedEx has a 12 month low of $213.80 and a 12 month high of $291.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.30.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that FedEx will post 17.69 earnings per share for the current year.

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

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

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.