FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Shares Up 1.8%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) traded up 1.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $269.10 and last traded at $268.09. 425,660 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,062,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays raised their target price on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research upgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $65.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $258.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.17.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,277.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last three months. 8.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FDX. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in FedEx by 20.0% in the first quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 27,000 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $7,823,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in FedEx by 3.0% in the first quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 29,488 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $8,544,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its holdings in FedEx by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 4,252 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its position in shares of FedEx by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 3,262 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.