Information Provided By:
Fly News Breaks for March 20, 2019
UPS, FDX
Mar 20, 2019 | 07:26 EDT
JPMorgan analyst Brian Ossenbeck downgraded FedEx (FDX) to Neutral from Overweight and lowered his price target for the shares to $202 from $227. Even with another favorable tax offset, FedEx's outlook was lowered more than expected as legacy Express leverage to a strong airfreight market was muted and the full TNT integration remains a second half of 2020 event, Ossenbeck tells investors in a post-earnings research note. The analyst is increasingly concerned that the company's operating margins in percent terms will be pressured even if Ground can lower costs fast enough to grow operating profit in dollars. He also believes UPS's (UPS) lack of success in bending the cost curve against rising e-commerce and direct to consumer volumes is a "cautionary note."