Stock investing advice: Fedex earnings decline 18% in latest quarter

FedEx Corp. (New York symbol FDX) delivers packages and documents in the U.S. and over 220 other countries. The Memphis-based courier company reported earnings that fell short of consensus estimates on Thursday. However, it noted that shipments for the holiday season are much stronger than 2009 and 2008. (FedEx is one of the stocks we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter.) In its 2011 second quarter, which ended November 30, 2010, the company earned $283 million, or $0.89 a share. That’s down 18.0% from $345 million, or $1.10 a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges, the company’s earnings per share rose 5.5% in the latest quarter, to $1.16. That fell well short of the consensus estimate of $1.31 a share. Revenue rose 12.1%, to $9.6 billion from $8.6 billion. That also missed the consensus revenue estimate of $9.8 billion. The stock trades at 21 times the $4.39 a share that FedEx likely earned in fiscal 2010. The $0.48 dividend yields 0.51%. You can get our in-depth analysis, including our latest buy/sell/hold stock investing advice, on FedEx and dozens of other U.S. stocks when you subscribe to Wall Street Stock Forecaster. What’s more, you can get one month free when you subscribe now. Click here to learn how.

Jim is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for The Successful Investor and Wall Street Stock Forecaster and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Jim has held the Chartered Financial Analyst designation since 1992 and spent more than a decade at the Financial Post DataGroup before joining TSI Network. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto.