FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Earns “Underperform” Rating from BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas restated their underperform rating on shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $250.00 price objective on the shipping service provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FDX. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $291.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FedEx from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $279.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $301.07.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FedEx stock opened at $289.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.58. FedEx has a one year low of $213.80 and a one year high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that FedEx will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark R. Allen sold 10,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.28, for a total transaction of $2,914,455.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,587,129.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total transaction of $1,769,882.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark R. Allen sold 10,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.28, for a total value of $2,914,455.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,587,129.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,393 shares of company stock worth $5,581,475 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,812,104 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $4,758,898,000 after purchasing an additional 82,994 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,155,472 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $4,004,941,000 after purchasing an additional 313,917 shares during the last quarter. Sentry LLC acquired a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at $1,811,748,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in FedEx by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,686,738,000 after purchasing an additional 880,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,076,619,000 after acquiring an additional 916,555 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.