Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,688 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $346,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 22,419 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $4,177,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Alerus Financial NA acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,466 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $2,323,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $168.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.72.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. On average, equities analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group 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.