XPO (NYSE:XPO) Given New $194.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

XPO (NYSE:XPO) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Susquehanna from $225.00 to $194.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on XPO. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of XPO from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of XPO from $221.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of XPO from $236.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of XPO from $228.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of XPO in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.00.

XPO Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of XPO stock opened at $179.71 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.13. XPO has a 12-month low of $121.48 and a 12-month high of $232.05. The company has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

XPO (NYSE:XPO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.22. XPO had a return on equity of 29.64% and a net margin of 4.71%.The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. XPO’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that XPO will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at XPO

In related news, CFO Kyle Wismans sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total transaction of $131,602.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 47,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,416,594.02. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO David Bates sold 2,615 shares of XPO stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.41, for a total transaction of $469,157.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,614,106.35. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,730 shares of company stock worth $2,208,974. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On XPO

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

Key Headlines Impacting XPO

Here are the key news stories impacting XPO this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $230 from $228 and maintained a “buy” rating. The new target implies substantial potential upside from the stock’s recent trading level, signaling continued confidence in XPO’s earnings and growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: XPO opened two new service centers in Mesa, Arizona, and Cameron, Missouri. The facilities expand capacity in fast-growing freight markets, improve the company’s North American less-than-truckload network and could support future shipment growth. XPO Opens Two New Service Centers in Fast-Growing Freight Markets
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Financial Officer Kyle Wismans sold 750 shares, while Chief Operating Officer David Bates sold 2,615 shares. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, reducing the likelihood that the sales reflect a change in management’s view of XPO’s prospects. The executives continue to hold substantial positions.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded XPO from “strong buy” to “hold.” The change may temper enthusiasm around the shares, particularly as the stock trades below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and carries a relatively elevated earnings multiple.

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.