FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Price Target Increased to $335.00 by Analysts at Argus

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) had its target price boosted by Argus from $325.00 to $335.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the shipping service provider’s stock.

FDX has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of FedEx from $316.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded FedEx from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. BNP Paribas reiterated an underperform rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $314.00.

FedEx Stock Up 1.5 %

FDX opened at $299.84 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $258.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.24. The company has a market cap of $73.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.16. FedEx has a 1 year low of $224.69 and a 1 year high of $302.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.36.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 25th. The shipping service provider reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.34 by $0.07. FedEx had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The company had revenue of $22.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.94 earnings per share. FedEx’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that FedEx will post 20.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. This is a positive change from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.04%.

FedEx announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the shipping service provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other FedEx news, Director Paul S. Walsh sold 2,535 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.72, for a total value of $747,115.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,345,646.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,810 shares of company stock worth $32,924,413 in the last three months. 8.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Lazari Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in FedEx in the first quarter worth $288,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FedEx by 0.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,496 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in FedEx by 45.2% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 148,573 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $42,610,000 after purchasing an additional 46,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the first quarter worth $89,000. 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.