FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) traded down 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $263.16 and last traded at $264.94. 1,421,134 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 2,349,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of FedEx from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $64.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $258.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.17.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.41 EPS. Research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 over the last 90 days. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sentry LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,811,748,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $700,291,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in FedEx in the 3rd quarter valued at $496,611,000. FMR LLC raised its position in FedEx by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,076,619,000 after purchasing an additional 916,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in FedEx by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,686,738,000 after purchasing an additional 880,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.