FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised FedEx from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $296.00 to $359.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $351.00 to $318.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of FedEx in a report on Thursday. They issued a buy rating and a $334.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on FedEx from $340.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $313.96.

FedEx Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:FDX opened at $297.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. FedEx has a twelve month low of $224.69 and a twelve month high of $313.84. The company has a market cap of $73.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $288.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.31.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 20.94 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 32.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total value of $4,714,624.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,634,640.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total value of $4,714,624.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,634,640.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total transaction of $2,611,688.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,797,974.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,944 shares of company stock valued at $9,882,355 over the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in FedEx by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 29,246 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $7,398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,055 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 1st quarter worth about $1,667,000. Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new stake in FedEx in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in FedEx in the first quarter valued at about $476,000. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in FedEx by 14.9% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,297 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

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.