Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5,278.66.

Several research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,100.00 to $5,600.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 target price (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Booking from $5,248.00 to $4,567.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,573.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $150.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4,689.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,774.73. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Analysts expect that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Booking by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake in Booking by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.