Hancock Whitney Corp Purchases 50,732 Shares of XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO)

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO - Free Report) by 295.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,899 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,732 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp owned about 0.06% of XPO worth $8,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in XPO in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of XPO in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in XPO by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 318 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in XPO by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in XPO by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 538 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 97.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David J. Bates acquired 1,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $106.16 per share, for a total transaction of $199,580.80. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 21,106 shares in the company, valued at $2,240,612.96. This trade represents a 9.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of XPO from $165.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on XPO from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Vertical Research raised XPO from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on XPO from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of XPO in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.63.

XPO Stock Performance

Shares of XPO stock traded up $1.19 on Monday, hitting $97.61. 2,949,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,618,278. The firm's 50 day moving average is $107.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.03. XPO, Inc. has a one year low of $85.06 and a one year high of $161.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

XPO (NYSE:XPO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The transportation company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that XPO, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

XPO 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.