FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $293.80 and last traded at $293.45, with a volume of 4890555 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $256.38.

The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $22.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.94 EPS.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 24th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.04%.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the shipping service provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FDX. Raymond James lowered their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on FedEx from $340.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up from $303.00) on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday. Argus boosted their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.00.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total transaction of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,542,999.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, CEO Richard W. Smith sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.24, for a total value of $368,668.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,542,999.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total value of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 117,275 shares of company stock valued at $32,177,298. 8.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock 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 company has a market cap of $72.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $256.80 and a 200 day moving average of $256.00.

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.