Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on EXPE. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Melius raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Expedia Group from $194.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.73.

Expedia Group Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $165.62 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.76. The company has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. Expedia Group has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 3,369.4% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,029,117 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $172,995,000 after purchasing an additional 999,454 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 78.7% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 40,947 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $6,883,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. increased its position in Expedia Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 13,338 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.