Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ:EXPD) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after UBS Group upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. UBS Group now has a $166.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $138.00. Expeditors International of Washington traded as high as $142.42 and last traded at $142.1870, with a volume of 685449 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $138.42.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Expeditors International of Washington from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Expeditors International of Washington from $114.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Expeditors International of Washington from $111.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Expeditors International of Washington from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Expeditors International of Washington from $116.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expeditors International of Washington presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jeffrey F. Dickerman sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.17, for a total transaction of $201,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,279.67. This trade represents a 19.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Emmert sold 5,400 shares of Expeditors International of Washington stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total transaction of $730,350.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $874,797. This trade represents a 45.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expeditors International of Washington

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Expeditors International of Washington by 733.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,887,853 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $231,432,000 after buying an additional 1,661,457 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Expeditors International of Washington during the second quarter valued at $111,222,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Expeditors International of Washington during the third quarter valued at $113,194,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expeditors International of Washington by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,279,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $717,470,000 after purchasing an additional 918,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Expeditors International of Washington by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,920,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $235,486,000 after purchasing an additional 749,993 shares during the last quarter. 94.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expeditors International of Washington Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $124.24 and its 200-day moving average is $118.75.

Expeditors International of Washington Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a yield of 113.0%. Expeditors International of Washington’s payout ratio is presently 25.12%.

Expeditors International of Washington Company Profile

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides logistics services worldwide. The company offers airfreight services, such as air freight consolidation and forwarding; ocean freight and ocean services, including ocean freight consolidation, direct ocean forwarding, and order management; customs brokerage, import, intra-continental ground transportation and delivery, and warehousing and distribution services; and customs clearance, purchase order management, vendor consolidation, time-definite transportation services, temperature-controlled transit, cargo insurance, specialized cargo monitoring and tracking, and other supply chain solutions.