FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $325.00 price objective on the shipping service provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FDX. UBS Group lowered their price objective on FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded FedEx from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $313.09.

FedEx Trading Up 15.5 %

Shares of FedEx stock opened at $296.19 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.72. FedEx has a 1 year low of $224.69 and a 1 year high of $296.86. The company has a market capitalization of $72.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (NYSE:FDX) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that FedEx will post 20.26 EPS for the current year.

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

FedEx Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is an increase from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.04%.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other FedEx 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 transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,614 shares in the company, valued at $23,542,999.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 117,275 shares of company stock valued at $32,177,298 in the last 90 days. 8.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FDX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in FedEx by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.