FedEx To Report 3Q Earnings On 3/17, Sterne Agee Maintains Buy

Sterne Agee has published a research report on FedEx Corporation FDX in anticipation of the company's 3Q earnings report scheduled for Thursday, March 17.

In the report, Sterne Agee writes "our industry contacts tell us 1Q (Fiscal 3Q for FDX) was a better volume and pricing quarter than expected, but you'd never know it given the global macro concerns. We expect the Company to earn $0.81/share, which is below Consensus expectations of $0.83. Management expects to report adjusted EPS of $0.70-$0.90 (per the pre-announcement on February 14), which excludes $0.08-$0.12 of costs related to the consolidation of the Company's TL and LTL businesses. We expect sales to increase 8%, a modest deceleration from the 12% in 2Q11 and 18% in 1Q11. We are forecasting a 20 bps deterioration in margins to 4.6% given higher fuel prices and severe winter weather – we believe the split is roughly 10 cents weather and 15 cents fuel."

Sterne Agee maintains its Buy rating and $114 price target.

FedEx Corporation closed yesterday at $87.67.