FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $314.00.

FDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other FedEx news, 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,810 shares of company stock worth $32,924,413 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 100.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx by 143.2% during the fourth 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 fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE FDX opened at $299.84 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $258.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.36. FedEx has a fifty-two week low of $224.69 and a fifty-two week high of $302.41.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 20.53 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.04%.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.