XPO, Inc. (XPO) - What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly bullish: XPO has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 26 firms, with 19 buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of $222.64 versus its reported $186.60 share price.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: XPO reported quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share and revenue of $2.35 billion, surpassing estimates of $1.48 per share and $2.28 billion; revenue increased 13.2% year over year.
• Ownership and insider activity diverged: Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.73% of XPO, with several major funds establishing or expanding positions, while insiders sold 11,730 shares worth about $2.21 million over the past three months.

XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $222.64.

XPO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on XPO from $236.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore raised XPO from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens increased their price target on XPO from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on XPO in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered XPO from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th.

XPO Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XPO opened at $186.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. XPO has a 52 week low of $121.48 and a 52 week high of $232.05.

XPO (NYSE:XPO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.22. XPO had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 29.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. XPO's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that XPO will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at XPO

In other news, CAO Christopher Brown sold 3,750 shares of XPO stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.94, for a total transaction of $757,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 31,005 shares in the company, valued at $6,261,149.70. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bates sold 2,615 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.93, for a total transaction of $465,286.95. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,053,011.60. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,730 shares of company stock worth $2,208,974 in the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On XPO

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in XPO during the second quarter worth about $2,985,276,000. MFN Partners Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of XPO in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,026,148,865. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of XPO by 115.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,420,899 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $470,986,000 after buying an additional 1,299,480 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of XPO in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $236,104,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of XPO during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $151,798,000. 97.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About XPO

XPO, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight services to businesses in North America and Europe. Its primary business is less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation, which consolidates shipments from multiple customers onto individual trailers. The company serves manufacturers, retailers, distributors and other commercial customers.

XPO's services include regional, interregional and cross-border LTL transportation, freight pickup and delivery, shipment tracking, and related supply chain solutions.

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