Vertical Research Upgrades XPO (NYSE:XPO) to “Buy”

XPO (NYSE:XPO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Vertical Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $140.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Vertical Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 29.54% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of XPO from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of XPO from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of XPO from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of XPO from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of XPO from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, XPO currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.89.

XPO Price Performance

XPO stock opened at $108.07 on Thursday. XPO has a 52-week low of $97.03 and a 52-week high of $161.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.88 and a 200-day moving average of $130.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 2.13. 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, 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, analysts predict that XPO will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of XPO

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of XPO in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of XPO in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of XPO by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 318 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of XPO by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of XPO in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.73% of the company’s stock.

XPO Company Profile

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.