FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Underweight”

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) was downgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $200.00 price target on the shipping service provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $215.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 33.42% from the company’s current price.

FDX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of FedEx from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com cut FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 24th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on FedEx in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $334.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.13.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDX opened at $300.39 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. The company has a market cap of $73.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.17. FedEx has a 12 month low of $224.69 and a 12 month high of $313.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $293.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.80.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($1.22). The business had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 20.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In other news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total value of $747,115.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,745 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,646.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total transaction of $747,115.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,646.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $4,714,624.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,634,640.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in FedEx by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,615 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of FedEx by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 455 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,690 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Sachetta LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 164 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.