FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Trading Up 0.3%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) shares shot up 0.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $269.60 and last traded at $267.81. 185,102 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 2,058,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.33.

FedEx Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $66.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $260.44 and its 200-day moving average is $254.28.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 486 shares in the company, valued at $140,507.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $140,507.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of FedEx by 43.6% during the first quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the first quarter worth about $225,000. Busey Bank increased its position in shares of FedEx by 5.8% during the first quarter. Busey Bank now owns 20,797 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the first quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Sweet Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in FedEx by 11.5% during the first quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last 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.