XPO (NYSE:XPO) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $131.00. The stock had previously closed at $113.21, but opened at $110.43. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. XPO shares last traded at $109.79, with a volume of 258,748 shares.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on XPO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on XPO from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of XPO in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of XPO in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of XPO from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of XPO from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $155.37.

Insider Activity at XPO

In related news, COO David J. Bates purchased 1,880 shares of XPO stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $106.16 per share, with a total value of $199,580.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of XPO by 159.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 70,407 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after buying an additional 43,237 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in XPO in the third quarter valued at $534,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of XPO by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 61,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,054,000 after acquiring an additional 18,398 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of XPO during the 4th quarter worth about $423,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of XPO by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 698,831 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $75,131,000 after purchasing an additional 185,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.73% of the company’s stock.

XPO Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 2.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $125.98 and its 200-day moving average is $129.57.

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

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

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.