Hurricane headwinds

Article Excerpt

FEDEX CORP. $93 (New York symbol FDX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 314.1 million; Market cap: $29.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSI Network Rating: Average; www.fedex.com) reported that its earnings in the three months ended November 30, 2012 fell 11.9%, to $438 million, or $1.39 a share. That’s mainly because Hurricane Sandy forced the company to suspend parcel deliveries on the U.S. eastern seaboard. A year earlier, it earned $497 million, or $1.57 a share. Revenue in the quarter rose 4.9%, to $11.1 billion from $10.6 billion. Strong demand for its lower-priced ground transportation services offset weaker demand for overnight deliveries. FedEx continues to restructure its operations, mainly by cutting workers at its international air delivery division. It is also replacing older planes with more fuel-efficient models. These moves should…