FedEx ponders a spinoff

Article Excerpt

FEDEX CORP. $296 is a buy. The package delivery firm (New York symbol FDX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 246.1 million; Market cap: $72.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.fedex.com) reported 0.8% higher revenue in its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter, ended May 31, 2024, to $22.11 billion from $21.93 billion a year earlier. FedEx continues to benefit from a new restructuring plan, which includes merging its various units into a single division. It expects annual savings of $4 billion by the end of fiscal 2025. Thanks to lower costs, earnings rose 7.2%, to $1.34 billion from $1.25 billion. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings gained 9.5%, to $5.41 from $3.41. The company is now reviewing how its less-than-truckload operations (10% of total revenue) fit with its overall business. That could lead to a sale or spinoff. Meantime, FedEx will probably earn $21.00 a share in fiscal 2025, and the stock trades at a reasonable 14.1 times that…