BNP Paribas Reiterates Underperform Rating for FedEx (NYSE:FDX)

FedEx (NYSE:FDX)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $250.00 target price on the shipping service provider’s stock. BNP Paribas’ target price suggests a potential downside of 13.70% from the company’s previous close.

FDX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of FedEx from $293.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.07.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX opened at $289.70 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $249.64 and its 200-day moving average is $252.32. FedEx has a 12 month low of $213.80 and a 12 month high of $291.27. The firm has a market cap of $71.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.41 EPS. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that FedEx will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total value of $102,373.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total transaction of $102,373.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guy M. Erwin II sold 2,749 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.11, for a total transaction of $794,763.39. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 486 shares in the company, valued at $140,507.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,393 shares of company stock worth $5,581,475 over the last quarter. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in FedEx by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 107 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.