NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of FedEx Corp. are higher by 4.40% to $174 in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning, after the package delivery service company announced it is buying Netherlands-based international courier TNT Express for $4.8 billion in order to expand its presence in Europe.TheStreet's Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager of the Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio says, "FedEx gets that Europe's coming back strong because the CEO, Fred Smith, is an economist and one of the greats." The transaction is pending regulatory approval and comes two years after FedEx rival UPS proposed a $7 billion takeover of TNT, which fell apart due to antitrust concerns, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We believe that this strategic acquisition will add significant value for FedEx shareowners, team members and customers around the globe. This transaction allows us to quickly broaden our portfolio of international transportation solutions to take advantage of market trends - especially the continuing growth of global e-commerce - and positions FedEx for greater long-term profitable growth," FedEx CEO Frederick Smith said in a statement. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2016 and both companies stated that if any antitrust issues were to arise they are confident they "can be addressed adequately in a timely fashion." Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates FEDEX CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of A. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate FEDEX CORP (FDX) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: FDX's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 3.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 3.7%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share. The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.45, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. To add to this, FDX has a quick ratio of 1.73, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs. Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Looking ahead, unless broad bear market conditions prevail, we still see more upside potential for this stock, despite the fact that it has already risen over the past year. FEDEX CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, FEDEX CORP increased its bottom line by earning $6.79 versus $4.92 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($8.94 versus $6.79). The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Air Freight & Logistics industry. The net income increased by 53.4% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $378.00 million to $580.00 million. You can view the full analysis from the report here: FDX Ratings Report Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 25 Stocks for 2015
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