FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Stock Price Up 1.1%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) shares rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $273.65 and last traded at $273.18. Approximately 231,983 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,048,159 shares. The stock had previously closed at $270.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on FedEx from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Melius Research raised FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

FedEx Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $65.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $261.03 and a 200 day moving average of $254.36.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.89%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now 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 accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Mark R. Allen sold 10,145 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,587,129.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in FedEx by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in FedEx by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors 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.