FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,160,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the October 15th total of 3,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in FedEx by 32.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,831,084 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,558,718,000 after buying an additional 2,163,622 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in FedEx by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,689,791 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,281,335,000 after buying an additional 67,502 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in FedEx by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,248,137 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $674,336,000 after acquiring an additional 578,350 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in FedEx by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,182,504 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $654,312,000 after purchasing an additional 121,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,699,179 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $465,031,000 after acquiring an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on FDX shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Hsbc Global Res lowered FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on FedEx from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on FedEx from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on FedEx from $333.00 to $332.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FedEx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.04.

FedEx Stock Performance

Shares of FDX traded down $2.19 on Tuesday, reaching $293.02. 1,004,073 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,800,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $275.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.71. FedEx has a 12 month low of $234.45 and a 12 month high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that FedEx will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.05%.

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.