Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for XPO (NYSE:XPO) Stock

XPO (NYSE:XPO) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $119.00 to $139.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of XPO from $147.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark boosted their price target on XPO from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on XPO from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stephens set a $131.00 price objective on XPO and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on XPO from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.11.

XPO Stock Up 1.9%

XPO opened at $128.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.67, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.69. XPO has a 52 week low of $85.06 and a 52 week high of $161.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

XPO (NYSE:XPO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. XPO had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 30.36%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that XPO will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

XPO declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 27th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other XPO news, COO David J. Bates purchased 1,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $106.16 per share, with a total value of $199,580.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 21,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,240,612.96. This trade represents a 9.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in XPO during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of XPO by 89.0% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of XPO during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of XPO by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 318 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in XPO by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.73% of the company’s stock.

XPO Company Profile

XPO, Inc provides freight transportation services in the United States, rest of North America, France, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, North American LTL and European Transportation. The North American LTL segment provides customers with less-than-truckload (LTL) services, such as geographic density and day-definite domestic services.