Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Issues Earnings Results

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $20.39 earnings per share.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,909.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4,646.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,804.74. The firm has a market cap of $160.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Booking stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley raised their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,263.28.

About Booking

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.