XPO (NYSE:XPO) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $97.43, but opened at $104.00. XPO shares last traded at $101.93, with a volume of 503,728 shares.

The transportation company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. XPO had a return on equity of 30.36% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS.

XPO announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on XPO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of XPO from $132.00 to $121.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on XPO from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on XPO from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of XPO from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of XPO from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, XPO presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $135.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at XPO

In related news, COO David J. Bates bought 1,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 21,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,240,612.96. This trade represents a 9.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On XPO

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of XPO by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,641,962 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,789,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,686 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in XPO by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,034,926 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,447,231,000 after purchasing an additional 79,393 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in XPO by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,753,883 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,016,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,001 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in XPO by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,606,265 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $341,812,000 after purchasing an additional 91,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of XPO by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,863,278 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $244,369,000 after buying an additional 425,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.73% of the company's stock.

XPO Stock Up 5.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.49.

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.