FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Cut to Hold at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res cut shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FDX. Susquehanna cut their price objective on FedEx from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on FedEx from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday. Argus boosted their price target on FedEx from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com downgraded FedEx from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a market perform rating on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $315.95.

FedEx Trading Down 15.2 %

Shares of FedEx stock opened at $254.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.32. FedEx has a 1 year low of $224.69 and a 1 year high of $313.84. The company has a market capitalization of $62.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $292.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.22.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 20.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total transaction of $4,714,624.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,634,640.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Robert B. Carter sold 16,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.48, for a total transaction of $4,714,624.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,634,640.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total transaction of $2,611,688.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,246 shares in the company, valued at $3,797,974.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in FedEx by 5.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,868,165 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $5,756,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,061 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in FedEx by 32.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,831,084 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,558,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163,622 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $732,040,000 after purchasing an additional 798,084 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 43.5% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,258,579 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $654,401,000 after purchasing an additional 684,679 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 34.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $674,336,000 after purchasing an additional 578,350 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.