FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Buy” Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $275.00 price objective on the shipping service provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $300.00.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of FedEx in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $331.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of FedEx from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.60.

FedEx Stock Performance

FedEx stock opened at $242.27 on Monday. FedEx has a 1-year low of $217.22 and a 1-year high of $313.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.04.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that FedEx will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In other news, EVP John W. Dietrich acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $273.98 per share, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. This trade represents a 12.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy B. Lane bought 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,927.98. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $807,352,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth $234,028,000. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in FedEx by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $3,907,568,000 after buying an additional 734,268 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter worth $145,733,000. Finally, ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 852,767 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $239,909,000 after acquiring an additional 329,170 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.