Wall Street Zen Downgrades FedEx (NYSE:FDX) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has dropped FedEx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting concerns about the stock's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, FedEx has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $283.25.
• Insider selling has occurred recently, with directors selling a significant number of shares, indicating potential concerns among company officials.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

FDX has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on FedEx from $259.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on FedEx from $311.00 to $297.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $315.00 target price on FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.25.

FedEx Stock Down 1.6%

FDX opened at $227.32 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $229.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.09. FedEx has a twelve month low of $194.29 and a twelve month high of $308.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $53.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.30.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The shipping service provider reported $6.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.09. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 4.65%. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that FedEx will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, Director Marvin R. Ellison sold 3,610 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.94, for a total transaction of $855,353.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,829,176.80. This trade represents a 31.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director R Brad Martin sold 2,123 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.75, for a total value of $513,235.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,160,036.25. This represents a 19.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,343 shares of company stock worth $2,228,816 in the last three months. 8.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in FedEx by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,700,326 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $4,705,391,000 after purchasing an additional 211,165 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its position in FedEx by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,482,494 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $3,292,016,000 after purchasing an additional 649,426 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in FedEx by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,947,670 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $1,124,524,000 after purchasing an additional 28,450 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in FedEx by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,545,371 shares of the shipping service provider's stock valued at $1,033,208,000 after purchasing an additional 94,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of FedEx by 28,080.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,743,557 shares of the shipping service provider's stock worth $850,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,730,273 shares in 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.

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