FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Raises Dividend to $1.45 Per Share

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, June 9th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a dividend of 1.45 per share by the shipping service provider on Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This is a 5.1% increase from FedEx's previous quarterly dividend of $1.38.

FedEx has a payout ratio of 24.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect FedEx to earn $21.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.5%.

FedEx Stock Performance

FedEx stock traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $224.91. 1,860,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,847,005. FedEx has a 12 month low of $194.30 and a 12 month high of $313.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $215.89 and a 200 day moving average of $248.47. The firm has a market cap of $53.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.56 by ($0.05). FedEx had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 4.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. FedEx's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FDX shares. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of FedEx from $272.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FedEx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $221.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $295.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,686,161.85. This trade represents a 20.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

An institutional investor recently raised its position in FedEx stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,825 shares of the shipping service provider's stock after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in FedEx were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by 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.