FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Sets New 52-Week Low After Earnings Miss

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $217.22 and last traded at $220.35, with a volume of 2202379 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $246.21.

The shipping service provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.56 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $22.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FDX. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $311.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stephens lowered their target price on FedEx from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on FedEx from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $337.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FedEx news, EVP John W. Dietrich bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $273.98 per share, with a total value of $273,980.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 9,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,484,176.66. The trade was a 12.40 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 3,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,461,510.80. This represents a 30.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in FedEx by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,199,506 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $5,682,727,000 after buying an additional 56,236 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in FedEx by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,889,624 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $3,907,568,000 after buying an additional 734,268 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,798,797 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,350,686,000 after buying an additional 109,006 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in FedEx by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,298,646 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,209,338,000 after buying an additional 323,115 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in FedEx by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,221,004 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $906,165,000 after acquiring an additional 127,044 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

FedEx Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $53.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.11.

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.