FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Shares Up 1.8%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $269.10 and last traded at $268.09. 425,660 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,062,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com cut FedEx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.33.

FedEx Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $258.74 and a 200-day moving average of $254.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.21.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) 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. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. FedEx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 owns 14,505,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 owns 14,505,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total value of $794,763.39. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $140,507.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in FedEx by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in FedEx by 143.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company's stock.

FedEx Company Profile

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.