Raymond James Issues Pessimistic Forecast for XPO (NYSE:XPO) Stock Price

XPO (NYSE:XPO) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Raymond James from $165.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Raymond James’ price target points to a potential upside of 18.83% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on XPO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of XPO in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of XPO from $176.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of XPO from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on XPO from $170.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Vertical Research raised XPO from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, XPO currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.16.

XPO Stock Performance

NYSE:XPO opened at $105.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 2.05. XPO has a twelve month low of $85.06 and a twelve month high of $161.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

XPO (NYSE:XPO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.21. XPO had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 30.36%. On average, analysts anticipate that XPO will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

XPO announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 27th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO David J. Bates purchased 1,880 shares of XPO stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $106.16 per share, with a total value of $199,580.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 21,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,240,612.96. The trade was a 9.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XPO

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in XPO by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 74,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,738,000 after purchasing an additional 27,034 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in XPO by 159.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 70,407 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after acquiring an additional 43,237 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in XPO during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $534,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of XPO by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 61,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,054,000 after purchasing an additional 18,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of XPO in the fourth quarter worth about $423,000. Institutional investors own 97.73% of the company’s stock.

About XPO

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.