FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 23.6% in April to 3,275,799 shares (about 1.4% of shares shorted), leaving a days-to-cover of roughly 2.1 based on average daily volume.
• Company insiders — including EVPs Tracy B. Brightman and Kawal Preet — have been selling sizable stakes; insiders disposed of 48,104 shares worth $17.6M in the last 90 days and now own about 0.53% of the stock.
• FedEx beat the quarter (EPS $5.25 vs. $4.12; revenue $24B vs. $23.44B), trades near $394, and carries an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy with a $398.04 target while yielding ~1.5%.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,275,799 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the March 31st total of 2,650,351 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,533,619 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In related news, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 16,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.47, for a total value of $6,164,087.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,017,070.44. This represents a 60.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kawal Preet sold 4,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.89, for a total value of $1,802,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,029,499.17. This trade represents a 30.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 48,104 shares of company stock valued at $17,599,006 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.3% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 207,077 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $48,831,000 after purchasing an additional 4,734 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 10.6% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 48,424 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $11,419,000 after purchasing an additional 4,634 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 11.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 34,958 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $8,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,514 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 32.5% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 40,019 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $9,437,000 after purchasing an additional 9,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 34.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,085 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $5,679,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FDX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on FedEx from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on FedEx from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on FedEx from $317.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. HSBC raised FedEx from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on FedEx from $412.00 to $446.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.04.

FedEx Price Performance

Shares of FDX traded down $9.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $393.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,070,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,391,174. FedEx has a 1-year low of $211.89 and a 1-year high of $404.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $318.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The shipping service provider reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $1.13. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 4.88%.The firm had revenue of $24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.51 EPS. FedEx's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that FedEx will post 19.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.87%.

FedEx Company Profile

FedEx Corporation NYSE: FDX is a global logistics and courier company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by Frederick W. Smith in 1971 and beginning operations in the early 1970s, the company pioneered overnight express shipping and has since expanded into a diversified portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain services. FedEx operates an integrated air-and-ground network that moves parcels, freight and documents for businesses and consumers worldwide.

FedEx's core operating segments include express parcel delivery via its FedEx Express division, domestic and residential parcel delivery through FedEx Ground, less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services, and logistics and supply-chain management solutions.

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