Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given “Buy” Rating at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. BTIG Research currently has a $6,250.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Booking from $6,200.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $5,680.00 to $5,620.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,141.52.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,875.37 on Monday. Booking has a 1-year low of $4,096.23 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,169.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,399.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The company had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $83.39 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,800,000. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,570,000. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,452 shares of company stock worth $17,987,397 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Booking in the third quarter worth $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.