Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 105.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,626 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 12,645 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $3,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City State Bank increased its stake in Expedia Group by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 193 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 173.0% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 344 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 335.6% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EXPE. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $149.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.08.

Expedia Group Trading Down 15.3 %

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $115.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $133.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.94 and a 52 week high of $160.05.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The online travel company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.10. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 5,119 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total transaction of $702,377.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,492,844.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.