Short Interest in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Grows By 5.9%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the August 15th total of 2,880,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FDX. Daiwa America cut shares of FedEx from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus increased their price target on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.58.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Security National Bank bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE FDX traded up $5.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $303.74. The company had a trading volume of 417,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,896. FedEx has a fifty-two week low of $224.69 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84. The firm has a market cap of $74.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.62.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. 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 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that FedEx will post 20.82 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

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.