Erste Group Bank Reduces Earnings Estimates for Booking

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank reduced their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Booking in a report issued on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $10.39 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $10.42. The consensus estimate for Booking’s current full-year earnings is $10.43 per share.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BKNG. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $214.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on Booking in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.29.

Booking Stock Down 1.6%

BKNG stock opened at $181.68 on Friday. Booking has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 25.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 50.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth about $179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Trending Headlines about Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage on Booking Holdings with an “outperform” rating and a $211 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels and suggesting Wall Street still sees room for the stock to recover. Wedbush initiates coverage on Booking
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for Booking to $10.39 from $10.42, a small reduction but still close to the consensus estimate of $10.43, so the change was not a major earnings shock.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent articles noted that Booking fell more than the broader market, indicating traders were selling the stock alongside a weaker tape and possibly taking profits after its strong run. Why Booking Holdings fell more than broader market

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.