Sanford C. Bernstein Cuts FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Price Target to $249.00

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) had its price objective trimmed by Sanford C. Bernstein from $282.00 to $249.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the shipping service provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital downgraded shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cfra Research raised shares of FedEx to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of FedEx from $337.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FedEx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.54.

FedEx Stock Performance

NYSE FDX opened at $223.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. FedEx has a 12-month low of $194.30 and a 12-month high of $313.84. The firm has a market cap of $53.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The shipping service provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.56 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $22.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.96 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that FedEx will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This is an increase from FedEx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John Alan Smith sold 6,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.55, for a total transaction of $1,499,050.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,161.85. This trade represents a 20.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. bLong Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter valued at $391,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 4th quarter worth about $461,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 10,540 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the 1st quarter worth about $147,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 30,124 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $8,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is currently 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.