More good news for those compensated via FEDEX equity positions...


FedEx Hits Record High on JP Morgan
Upgrade

Shares of FedEx (FDX) have hit a record high today after the express delivery companys stock was upgraded by JP Morgan.

JP Morgan analyst Thomas Wadewitz and team raised FedEx to Overweight from Neutral.

They explain why:

We are upgrading FDX from Neutral to Overweight due to a higher degree of confidence in managements aggressiveness in executing their improvement plans following their large buyback announcement last week and also due to our view that capacity reductions and the initial shift of IE traffic to commercial lift has positioned FDX to better absorb the pressures from trade down.

FDX stock has already been strong in 2013, rising 38.9% (vs. the S&P 500 + 22.3%), but transports have also been strong (rails +30%; UPS +27%) and we note that FDX has lagged on a multi-year basis.

Versus muted upside for other transports, FDXs story is particularly attractive.

Shares of FedEx have gained 2.2% to $130.19, while United Parcel Service (UPS) has risen 0.6% to $94.33, also near a record high.

Deutsche Post (DPSGY) has gained 4.4% to $34.32 and Arkansas Best (ABFS) has advanced 1.2% to $27.19.

Did anyone read FedEx's retirement funding report? It said the FDX retirement acct has been funded at 117%. Which is indicative of a strong financial balance sheet. Furthermore, the company indicated that it would not reduce current funding levels. The article explained that some companies will increase funding during good financial times and potentially reduce funding percentages when enduring financial hardships.

It would appear that with these two pieces of info (retirement funding levels & stock repurchase plan), the company is crying wolf by "trying" to say they can't afford to give raises to pilots in this economic climate.

Are you quoting yourself and then agreeing with your own advice?
Not that there's anything wrong with that. I agree with myself all the time.

Now borrowing $$$ to buy back stock more quickly....

FedEx Sells $2 Billion of Debt in Three Parts

January 06, 2014


FedEx Corp., the world's largest cargo airline, sold $2 billion of bonds in three parts to accelerate a share-buyback program.

FedEx issued equal $750 million portions of 10-year, 4 percent bonds to yield 105 basis points more than similiar-maturity Treasuries and 5.1 percent, 30-year debt at a relative yield of 120 basis points and a $500 million portion of 4.9 percent, 20-year notes to pay 100 basis points more than benchmarks due in 2043, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Proceeds from the sale will fund the buyback, the Memphis, Tennessee-based company said today in a regulatory filing.

The offering is the company's first since a $750 million, two-part issue in April, Bloomberg data show.

The $500 million, 4.1 percent portion due April 2043 traded Dec. 18 at 86.2 cents on the dollar to yield 5 percent, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Shares fell 0.95 percent to $138.72 at the close in New York.

FedEx gained 57 percent in 2013 as the company worked through a plan to cut operating costs by $1.7 billion over three years, chiefly at the FedEx Express unit, as shippers seek cheaper services.

Loeb and Soros must be a real threat.