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

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the January 15th total of 3,570,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FDX shares. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital cut shares of FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $365.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of FedEx from $368.00 to $364.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.87.

Insider Transactions at FedEx

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.45, for a total transaction of $1,100,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,461,510.80. The trade was a 30.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy B. Lane acquired 333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $276.06 per share, with a total value of $91,927.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,927.98. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in FedEx by 2.0% during the third quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,948 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 3.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,308 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 4.0% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 1.0% in the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of FedEx stock opened at $267.35 on Wednesday. FedEx has a 52-week low of $235.32 and a 52-week high of $313.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.53. The firm has a market cap of $64.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.18.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The shipping service provider reported $4.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.17. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company had revenue of $22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. FedEx’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.