FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Hits New 52-Week High on Strong Earnings

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $293.80 and last traded at $293.45, with a volume of 4890555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.38.

The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.83%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on FedEx from $316.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FedEx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other FedEx news, EVP Mark R. Allen sold 10,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.28, for a total value of $2,914,455.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 available through the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 127,774 shares of company stock valued at $35,194,126. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FDX. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in FedEx by 19.6% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,065 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in FedEx by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,130 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,003 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in FedEx by 92.3% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,892 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in FedEx by 25.3% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,433 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,714,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Up 14.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $256.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $72.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16.

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.