FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Earns Buy Rating from Stifel Nicolaus

FedEx (NYSE:FDX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by Stifel Nicolaus in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $327.00 price target on the shipping service provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $303.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FDX. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of FedEx to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $309.83.

FedEx Stock Up 14.2 %

NYSE:FDX traded up $36.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $292.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,509,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. FedEx has a one year low of $224.69 and a one year high of $293.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $256.13 and its 200-day moving average is $255.72. The company has a market cap of $72.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that FedEx will post 17.76 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Mark R. Allen sold 10,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.28, for a total transaction of $2,914,455.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,587,129.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of 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. Insiders sold a total of 127,774 shares of company stock worth $35,194,126 in the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in FedEx by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 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.