Booking’s (BKNG) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at BMO Capital Markets

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $6,000.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $5,700.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price indicates a potential upside of 12.00% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on BKNG. Bank of America increased their price objective on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Booking from $5,800.00 to $5,650.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Down 2.7%

Booking stock traded down $146.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $5,357.37. The stock had a trading volume of 97,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,997. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5,567.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,070.33. The company has a market cap of $173.63 billion, a PE ratio of 37.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $41.90 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.