The key to successful investing right now is to uncover great companies that are selling at bargain prices for no good reason. One of them, in my opinion, is FedEx (FDX), notes Mark Skousen, growth stock expert and editor of Home Run Trader.
Based in Memphis, Tennessee, FedEx is one of the world’s leading transportation companies and employs more than 570,000 team members worldwide.
The firm offers transportation solutions, e-commerce services and other business, supply chain and logistics services in more than 220 countries. It handles over 15 million shipments each day.
This is a company with a sterling reputation. It is consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted companies. Fortune magazine declared FedEx one of the “100 Best Places to Work” and Forbes named it one of the “World’s Most Valuable Brands.”
FedEx generates over $89.5 billion in annual sales. And revenue is growing by 14% year over year. However, the stock is well off of its 52-week high of $320, even though earnings beat the Wall Street consensus by 13% in the most recent quarter.
Why is the stock down? Like many companies, FedEx has struggled with labor challenges in recent months, although those will ease as the pandemic wanes. A bigger challenge, according to some analysts, is the fact that even though FedEx provided critical services during the pandemic, the reopening of the economy in the United States and abroad will reduce the demand for its services.
I think that this analysis is wrong. People are not going to give up buying online just because the pandemic is over. E-commerce will continue to grow for many years to come. That means there will also be a growth in the number of packages to deliver.
And here’s a personal insight. I’ve had several FedEx packages delayed over the last two months. Each time I inquired about them — since the company has a good reputation for on-time delivery — I got the same explanation. The company is experiencing “record shipments.”
But, if the company is seeing record volume, that only makes the stock appear more undervalued at just 12 times trailing earnings and only nine times prospective earnings for the next 12 months. I believe the stock is an excellent buy at these levels — and ripe for a rebound. Buy FedEx Corp. at market. And set a protective stop at $175.
