FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,160,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the October 15th total of 3,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in FedEx by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,831,084 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,558,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,622 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 473.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784,691 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,147,540,000 after acquiring an additional 647,926 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in FedEx by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $674,336,000 after acquiring an additional 578,350 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FedEx by 2,163.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 192,441 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $52,667,000 after purchasing an additional 183,940 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 368,107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $101,022,000 after purchasing an additional 161,022 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Trading Down 0.7 %

FedEx stock traded down $2.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $293.02. 1,004,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,800,786. FedEx has a 52-week low of $234.45 and a 52-week high of $313.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $275.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.71.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($1.22). The company had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of FedEx from $359.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $333.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, September 20th. HSBC downgraded shares of FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.04.

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.