FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $283.25.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FDX. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down previously from $330.00) on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Loop Capital downgraded FedEx from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $221.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $275.00) on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 3,610 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $860,226.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,696,592.77. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director R Brad Martin sold 2,123 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.75, for a total value of $513,235.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,160,036.25. The trade was a 19.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $807,352,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the first quarter valued at approximately $314,650,000. Dodge & Cox lifted 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. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC lifted its stake in FedEx by 85.9% in the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 1,585,033 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $386,399,000 after purchasing an additional 732,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in FedEx by 18,202.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 545,586 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $133,003,000 after purchasing an additional 542,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company's stock.

FedEx Price Performance

NYSE:FDX traded down $2.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $236.47. 1,937,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,856,409. The company has a market capitalization of $56.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.35. FedEx has a 1-year low of $194.30 and a 1-year high of $313.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $223.89 and a 200 day moving average of $240.64.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The shipping service provider reported $6.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.41 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that FedEx will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is an increase from FedEx's previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. FedEx's payout ratio is 34.36%.

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.