FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $305.00 to $267.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. FedEx traded as low as $194.34 and last traded at $195.76, with a volume of 65832 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $198.07.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler cut shares of FedEx to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Loop Capital downgraded FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on FedEx in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total value of $1,499,050.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,686,161.85. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at $2,461,510.80. The trade was a 30.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. bLong Financial LLC acquired a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth about $391,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,405,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in FedEx by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,329 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,855,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FedEx Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.13.

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

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.63%.

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.