Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades XPO (NYSE:XPO) to Strong-Buy

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

XPO has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens boosted their target price on XPO from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on XPO from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research raised XPO from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $247.00 target price on shares of XPO in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of XPO from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, XPO has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.82.

XPO Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE XPO opened at $182.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $200.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.43. The company has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.85. XPO has a 12 month low of $121.48 and a 12 month high of $232.05.

XPO (NYSE:XPO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. XPO’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that XPO will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Christopher Brown sold 3,750 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 31,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,261,149.70. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XPO

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi raised its holdings in XPO by 50.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in XPO by 7.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 17,654 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in XPO by 3.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,416 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in XPO by 35.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in XPO in the second quarter valued at $611,000. 97.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About XPO

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.