FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on FedEx from $359.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Daiwa America cut FedEx from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $347.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $335.00 to $318.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.04.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE FDX opened at $292.08 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $275.05 and its 200-day moving average is $275.84. FedEx has a 12-month low of $234.45 and a 12-month high of $313.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $71.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.17.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($1.22). The business had revenue of $21.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that FedEx will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in FedEx by 6.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,909 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $12,564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,767 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 2nd quarter worth $9,226,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 485,698 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $132,926,000 after acquiring an additional 31,241 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 2nd quarter worth $22,052,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 3rd quarter worth $2,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

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.