FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Rating Lowered to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $200.00 price target on the shipping service provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $215.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 21.46% from the company’s current price.

FDX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a report on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $316.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of FedEx in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised FedEx from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $296.00 to $359.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.38.

FedEx Stock Down 15.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FDX opened at $254.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $292.43 and its 200-day moving average is $275.04. FedEx has a 52 week low of $224.69 and a 52 week high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($1.22). FedEx had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $21.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.55 earnings per share. FedEx’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that FedEx will post 20.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total value of $34,711.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,293.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Guy M. Erwin II sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.24, for a total transaction of $34,711.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 930 shares in the company, valued at $278,293.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 8,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.14, for a total value of $2,611,688.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,797,974.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,944 shares of company stock worth $9,882,355 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FedEx by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,868,165 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $5,756,602,000 after buying an additional 1,056,061 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of FedEx by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,831,084 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,558,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163,622 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,893,781 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $732,040,000 after purchasing an additional 798,084 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,258,579 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $654,401,000 after purchasing an additional 684,679 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 578,350 shares during the last quarter. 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.