UPDATE: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on FedEx

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating on FedEx Corporation FDX, but lowered its price target from $107.00 to $100.00. BofA Merrill Lynch noted, “We are decreasing our fiscal 1Q13, 2013, and 2014 EPS estimates 12%, 6%, and 4%, to $1.40, $6.75, and $7.80, from $1.59, $7.15, and $8.10, respectively, as FedEx Express remains weaker than expected. We believe Express is experiencing downshifts to lower yielding shipments, which impacts both yield and margin. We decreased our Express yield target 320 bps to -4.6% from -1.4%, as we target larger shifts from priority to lower-rated lower-margin express products. Our Express operating margin for F1Q13 and F13 dropped 130 bps and 70 bps, to 3.6% and 5.0%, respectively. We reiterate Buy, which focuses on the benefits from its pending cost cutting, while recognizing the shares are likely to pull back tomorrow. We reduce our price objective to $100 from $107, holding our 14.5x target multiple on our revised F2013 EPS estimate.” FedEx Corporation closed on Tuesday at $87.54.