XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,780,000 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the April 30th total of 8,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 8.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark raised their price target on XPO from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of XPO from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of XPO from $132.00 to $121.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of XPO from $147.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of XPO in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, XPO presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $134.11.

XPO Stock Up 1.5%

XPO stock traded up $1.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $116.68. 1,786,499 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,643,294. XPO has a 1 year low of $85.06 and a 1 year high of $161.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $107.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.37. The stock has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

XPO (NYSE:XPO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The transportation company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. XPO's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that XPO will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

XPO declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 27th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other XPO news, COO David J. Bates acquired 1,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $106.16 per share, for a total transaction of $199,580.80. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 21,106 shares in the company, valued at $2,240,612.96. This represents a 9.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XPO

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in XPO in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in XPO by 89.0% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 240 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in XPO in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in XPO by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 318 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in XPO by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.