XPO (NYSE:XPO) Given New $142.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

XPO (NYSE:XPO) had its price objective cut by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $147.00 to $142.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 48.05% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $171.00 target price on shares of XPO in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on XPO from $150.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays cut their price target on XPO from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on XPO from $148.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $139.89.

XPO Stock Performance

XPO stock opened at $95.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.45.

XPO (NYSE:XPO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.89 EPS 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%. Analysts predict that XPO will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

XPO announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 27th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other XPO news, COO David J. Bates bought 1,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $106.16 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 9.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On XPO

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of XPO by 18.5% in 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 buying an additional 2,125,686 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in XPO in the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,667,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of XPO during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,808,000. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of XPO during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $163,938,000. Hedge funds and other 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.