Is FedEx (FDX) A Good Stock To Buy Now?

At Insider Monkey, we pore over the filings of nearly 817 top investment firms every quarter, a process we have now completed for the latest reporting period. The data we’ve gathered as a result gives us access to a wealth of collective knowledge based on these firms’ portfolio holdings as of September 30. In this article, we will use that wealth of knowledge to determine whether or not FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) makes for a good investment right now.

Is FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) a good stock to buy now? Fedex investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) was in 71 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2020. The all time high for this statistics is 53. This means the bullish number of hedge fund positions in this stock currently sits at its all time high. Our calculations also showed that FDX isn’t among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q3 rankings and see the video for a quick look at the top 5 stocks).

Video: Watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.

Today there are a large number of metrics shareholders have at their disposal to value publicly traded companies. A duo of the most useful metrics are hedge fund and insider trading interest. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see the details here).

At Insider Monkey we leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example, we believe electric vehicles and energy storage are set to become giant markets. Tesla’s stock price skyrocketed, yet lithium prices are still below their 2019 highs. So, we are checking out this lithium stock right now. We go through lists like the 15 best blue chip stocks to buy to pick the best large-cap stocks to buy. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our website. With all of this in mind we’re going to take a glance at the key hedge fund action encompassing FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX).

What does smart money think about FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)?

Heading into the fourth quarter of 2020, a total of 71 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 54% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards FDX over the last 21 quarters. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

More specifically, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust was the largest shareholder of FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX), with a stake worth $760.8 million reported as of the end of September. Trailing Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust was Citadel Investment Group, which amassed a stake valued at $358.3 million. Southeastern Asset Management, Platinum Asset Management, and Millennium Management were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Elm Ridge Capital allocated the biggest weight to FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX), around 8.69% of its 13F portfolio. 12th Street Asset Management is also relatively very bullish on the stock, setting aside 7.83 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to FDX.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Candlestick Capital Management, managed by Jack Woodruff, established the biggest position in FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX). Candlestick Capital Management had $96.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP also initiated a $69.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new FDX positions are Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, John Osterweis’s Osterweis Capital Management, and Robert Bishop’s Impala Asset Management.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX). We will take a look at Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD), Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK), Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW), Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI), and Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to FDX’s market value.

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 62 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $2400 million. That figure was $2580 million in FDX’s case. Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) is the least popular one with only 36 bullish hedge fund positions. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for FDX is 67.3. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. Our calculations showed that top 20 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 41.3% in 2019 and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 10 percentage points. These stocks gained 30.7% in 2020 through November 27th and still beat the market by 16.1 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on FDX as the stock returned 14.3% since the end of Q3 (through 11/27) and outperformed the market. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness.

Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.