FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $275.88, but opened at $294.00. FedEx shares last traded at $284.18, with a volume of 1,317,551 shares traded.

The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 4.62%. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.99 earnings per share.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on FedEx from $321.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on FedEx from $335.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Hsbc Global Res lowered FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on FedEx from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on FedEx from $311.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.88.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FDX. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 8.6% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 455 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,690 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 2.4% during the second quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 29.1% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 164 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of FedEx by 2.0% in the third quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,948 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $282.71 and a 200 day moving average of $282.10. The firm has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18.

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.