FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $215.58 and last traded at $216.52, with a volume of 3215205 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $245.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $364.00 to $354.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on FedEx from $347.00 to $317.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Stephens cut their target price on FedEx from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $331.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.71.

FedEx Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.15. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.24.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John W. Dietrich purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,484,176.66. This represents a 12.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total value of $1,499,050.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,686,161.85. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,711 shares of company stock worth $3,312,693 in the last ninety days. 8.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FDX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,199,506 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $5,682,727,000 after acquiring an additional 56,236 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in FedEx by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $3,907,568,000 after purchasing an additional 734,268 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in FedEx by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,798,797 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,350,686,000 after purchasing an additional 109,006 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of FedEx by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,298,646 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,209,338,000 after buying an additional 323,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,221,004 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $906,165,000 after buying an additional 127,044 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.