Oppenheimer Issues Pessimistic Forecast for XPO (NYSE:XPO) Stock Price

XPO (NYSE:XPO) had its price objective reduced by Oppenheimer from $176.00 to $142.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on XPO. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on XPO from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on XPO from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of XPO in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of XPO from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of XPO from $170.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $150.58.

XPO Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XPO opened at $91.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.73. XPO has a 52 week low of $85.06 and a 52 week high of $161.00. The stock has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 2.05.

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

XPO declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO David J. Bates acquired 1,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $106.16 per share, for a total transaction of $199,580.80. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On XPO

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XPO. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in XPO by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,648 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after buying an additional 5,680 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of XPO in the third quarter worth about $232,000. Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in XPO by 49.5% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 4,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in XPO by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in XPO by 159.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 70,407 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,569,000 after purchasing an additional 43,237 shares during the last quarter. 97.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.