FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $275.88, but opened at $294.00. FedEx shares last traded at $284.18, with a volume of 1,317,551 shares trading hands.

The shipping service provider reported $4.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.14 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.99 earnings per share.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of FedEx from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of FedEx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on FedEx from $347.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FedEx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.48.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. &PARTNERS boosted its holdings in FedEx by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 3,414 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 10.8% during the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 778 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 6.8% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in FedEx by 8.6% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 455 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Fullcircle Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx in the 2nd quarter worth $268,000. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FedEx Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $67.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $282.48 and a 200 day moving average of $281.66.

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.