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

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

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $321.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $333.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FedEx currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $315.95.

FedEx Stock Down 15.2 %

FedEx stock opened at $254.64 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.22. The firm 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.36. FedEx has a one year low of $224.69 and a one year high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($1.22). The firm had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that FedEx will post 20.82 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total transaction of $2,611,688.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,246 shares in the company, valued at $3,797,974.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total transaction of $2,611,688.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,246 shares in the company, valued at $3,797,974.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total transaction of $747,115.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,345,646.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355. 8.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,163,622 shares during the period. Sentry LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,007,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,056,061 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of FedEx by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $732,040,000 after purchasing an additional 798,084 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of FedEx by 43.5% in the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,258,579 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $654,401,000 after purchasing an additional 684,679 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.