Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on FedEx (NYSE:FDX)

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 9,858 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 68% compared to the typical volume of 5,852 call options.

FedEx Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:FDX traded up $2.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $300.55. 168,636 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,996,176. FedEx has a one year low of $187.62 and a one year high of $345.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $307.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.80.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The shipping service provider reported $5.88 EPS for the quarter. FedEx had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $23.26 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that FedEx will post 18.27 earnings per share for the current year.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 14th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FedEx

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBT Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of FedEx during the third quarter valued at about $221,000. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in FedEx by 19.8% in the third quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,598 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,166,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in FedEx by 28.8% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 885 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in FedEx by 4.8% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 19,132 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $5,478,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its holdings in FedEx by 1.7% in the third quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 28,620 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $8,159,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FDX. Citigroup reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Stephens upgraded FedEx to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered FedEx from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $354.64.

FedEx Company Profile

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is a global transportation, e-commerce and business services company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Through its operating companies, FedEx provides time-definite express delivery, ground shipping, freight transportation, customs brokerage, logistics and supply chain services for businesses, governments and consumers.

The company’s services include domestic and international package delivery, less-than-truckload freight transportation, warehousing, fulfillment, supply chain management and specialized logistics solutions.