XPO (NYSE:XPO) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $136.31, but opened at $149.99. XPO shares last traded at $148.90, with a volume of 360,526 shares traded.

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 4.57% and a return on equity of 31.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on XPO shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on XPO from $137.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of XPO from $124.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of XPO from $148.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of XPO from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on XPO from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.06.

Institutional Trading of XPO

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XPO. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in XPO by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 538 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in XPO by 5.0% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,239 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in XPO by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,374 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in XPO by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,343 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in XPO by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,138 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 97.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

XPO Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.57. The company has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

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.