Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the forty research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $265.7813.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EXPE. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Expedia Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th.

Expedia Group Stock Down 2.5%

EXPE stock opened at $274.21 on Friday. Expedia Group has a 52 week low of $130.01 and a 52 week high of $282.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $239.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.24.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The online travel company reported $7.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.10 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 64.15% and a net margin of 9.66%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 15.31%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.55, for a total value of $814,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,858 shares in the company, valued at $8,379,489.90. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.00, for a total transaction of $258,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,916 shares in the company, valued at $752,328. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,849 shares of company stock worth $1,283,270 in the last quarter. 9.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $325,000. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 55.1% during the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 177,934 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $29,911,000 after buying an additional 63,244 shares during the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in Expedia Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 107,973 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $18,213,000 after buying an additional 2,767 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Expedia Group during the second quarter valued at about $2,351,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the second quarter valued at about $417,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Company Profile

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.