Short Interest in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Increases By 5.6%

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

FedEx Stock Down 0.1 %

FDX stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $294.82. 514,851 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,798,602. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $275.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.17. FedEx has a 52-week low of $234.45 and a 52-week high of $313.84.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The shipping service provider reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FedEx will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. FedEx’s payout ratio is 34.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on FDX shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of FedEx from $334.00 to $328.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of FedEx from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on FedEx from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Daiwa America lowered FedEx from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded FedEx from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.04.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of FedEx by 0.6% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,615 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 8.6% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 455 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in FedEx by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,690 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Detalus Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.4% in the second quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in shares of FedEx by 29.1% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 164 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.