Brokerages Set FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Price Target at $300.74

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $301.92.

Several brokerages have issued reports on FDX. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on FedEx from $340.00 to $333.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on FedEx from $310.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on FedEx from $301.00 to $296.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE:FDX opened at $253.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $260.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. FedEx has a 12 month low of $222.01 and a 12 month high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. FedEx’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 17.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total transaction of $102,373.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total transaction of $102,373.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in FedEx by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 148,573 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $42,610,000 after acquiring an additional 46,244 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in FedEx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in FedEx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $324,000. Garde Capital Inc. grew its stake in FedEx by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 1,690 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in FedEx by 145.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 27,685 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $8,021,000 after acquiring an additional 16,412 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.