FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $318.58.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FDX shares. Loop Capital lowered FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on FedEx from $301.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded FedEx from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on FedEx from $372.00 to $323.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on FedEx from $368.00 to $364.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

FedEx Price Performance

FDX opened at $246.40 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $265.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.74. FedEx has a 1 year low of $242.92 and a 1 year high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FedEx

In related news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 2,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.93, for a total transaction of $713,371.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,984,589.98. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy B. Lane bought 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $276.06 per share, for a total transaction of $91,927.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 333 shares in the company, valued at $91,927.98. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. bLong Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $391,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,405,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in FedEx by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,329 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Company Profile

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.