XPO (NYSE:XPO) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Sanford C. Bernstein

XPO (NYSE:XPO) was upgraded by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of XPO from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of XPO from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of XPO from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of XPO from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of XPO from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, XPO has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.82.

XPO Price Performance

Shares of XPO opened at $182.11 on Thursday. XPO has a 12-month low of $121.48 and a 12-month high of $232.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.72, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.85.

XPO (NYSE:XPO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that XPO will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at XPO

In related news, CAO Christopher Brown sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.94, for a total value of $757,275.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 31,005 shares in the company, valued at $6,261,149.70. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of XPO in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in XPO during the second quarter worth $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in XPO in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake in XPO during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in XPO during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 97.73% of the company’s stock.

XPO Company Profile

XPO, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides freight-moving services to businesses in North America and Europe. Its operations are centered on less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation, which consolidates shipments from multiple customers onto individual trucks. The company serves manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and other commercial customers through a network of terminals, drivers and freight-handling facilities.

In addition to LTL shipping, XPO provides truck brokerage and other transportation-management services, helping customers arrange freight capacity and manage the movement of goods.