Short Interest in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Drops By 8.5%

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, a decline of 8.5% from the August 31st total of 3,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FDX. UBS Group lowered their price target on FedEx from $333.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on FedEx from $327.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of FedEx from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bernstein Bank increased their price objective on FedEx from $305.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.74.

FedEx Stock Down 1.5 %

FDX stock traded down $4.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $269.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,685,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,886,419. FedEx has a 12 month low of $224.69 and a 12 month high of $313.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $286.76 and its 200-day moving average is $275.91. The company has a market cap of $66.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). FedEx had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 4.62%. The company had revenue of $21.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that FedEx will post 19.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brie Carere sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.43, for a total value of $607,821.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,189,042.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Brie Carere sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.43, for a total transaction of $607,821.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,189,042.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total transaction of $34,711.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,293.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,030 shares of company stock valued at $4,013,050. Corporate insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in FedEx in the 4th quarter worth $324,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of FedEx by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 85,373 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $21,597,000 after buying an additional 5,350 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in FedEx by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 112,397 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $28,432,000 after acquiring an additional 29,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in shares of FedEx by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 27,633 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $6,990,000 after acquiring an additional 12,712 shares in the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.