Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5,781.0370.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BKNG. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $6,000.00 target price (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,484.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5,562.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,115.58. Booking has a 1-year low of $3,592.28 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The company has a market cap of $177.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 400.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.