Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Short Interest Update

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,503,582 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the January 15th total of 6,112,405 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,910,289 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,910,289 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $365.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Expedia Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.23.

Expedia Group Stock Down 6.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $212.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.42. Expedia Group has a 12 month low of $130.01 and a 12 month high of $303.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $272.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.06.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 72.23% and a net margin of 8.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 16.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 2,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $752,328. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.08, for a total value of $210,619.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,893,108.96. This represents a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 9.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $663,882,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Expedia Group by 24,899.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,808,466 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $386,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801,232 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 102.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,917,669 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $492,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,386 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Expedia Group by 497.0% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 871,837 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $147,061,000 after purchasing an additional 725,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 594.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 583,830 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $165,405,000 after buying an additional 499,706 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is a global travel technology company that operates an online marketplace connecting consumers, travel suppliers and third‑party partners. The company’s platform enables search, comparison and booking of travel products and services, including hotels, airline tickets, vacation rentals, car rentals, cruises and packaged travel. Its portfolio comprises consumer-facing travel brands as well as corporate travel solutions and technology services that serve both leisure and business travelers.

Key offerings include consumer booking platforms and mobile apps that aggregate inventory from hotels, vacation rental managers, airlines and car rental companies, alongside ancillary travel services such as trip insurance and activities.