Loop Capital Upgrades FedEx (NYSE:FDX) to “Buy”

Loop Capital upgraded shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. Loop Capital currently has $365.00 price objective on the shipping service provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $288.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on FDX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on FedEx from $327.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of FedEx from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of FedEx from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on FedEx from $305.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.88.

FedEx Trading Down 0.1 %

FDX opened at $275.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.24. FedEx has a fifty-two week low of $234.45 and a fifty-two week high of $313.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $282.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that FedEx will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders 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 is Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is presently 34.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in FedEx by 473.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,147,540,000 after purchasing an additional 647,926 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in FedEx by 34.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $674,336,000 after buying an additional 578,350 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in FedEx by 8.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,975,531 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,042,050,000 after buying an additional 314,380 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in FedEx by 2,163.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $52,667,000 after buying an additional 183,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx by 77.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 368,107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $101,022,000 after acquiring an additional 161,022 shares during the last quarter. 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.