Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives $232.66 Average PT from Brokerages

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $232.6576.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Booking from $240.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.80 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $216.28 to $187.92 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 60,876 shares of company stock valued at $10,559,629 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 25.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 50.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK rolled out “Ask AI,” a conversational travel-planning tool timed for World Cup travel demand — could boost engagement and conversion on seasonal peak bookings. KAYAK Launches Ask AI to Simplify Travel Planning Just in Time for the World Cup
• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK research shows UK travelers planning football-linked summer holidays — a near-term demand tailwind for summer bookings across Booking’s platforms. Brits Are Packing Their Bags for a Summer of Football Abroad, According to KAYAK
• Positive Sentiment: Fiduciary Management (FMI) highlighted Booking in its Q1 letter, signaling some institutional conviction in the business despite broader market turbulence. Here’s Why Fiduciary Management Bets on Booking Holdings (BKNG), The Largest Online Travel Agency
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators point to a valuation gap after recent weakness, framing BKNG as a potential value play given strong gross bookings and cash generation. Booking Holdings Is Trading At A Discount After Its 16% Slump
• Neutral Sentiment: Market is focused on upcoming Q1 results: previews note solid travel demand and AI benefits but warn of slowing room-night growth — Q1 print will likely drive near-term direction. BKNG to Report Q1 Earnings: What’s in the Cards for the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street metrics previews and estimate updates are circulating; these raise short-term sensitivity to beats/misses on key metrics (room nights, take rate, margins). Ahead of Booking Holdings (BKNG) Q1 Earnings: Get Ready With Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped sharply in April (as of Apr. 15: ~26.9M shares, ~3.4% of float, ~3.9 days to cover), increasing the risk of downward pressure and more volatile moves on disappointing news (no direct source link available in the feed).
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling was reported and coincided with a recent >5% intra-session drop, which has likely contributed to cautious positioning by investors. Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary (e.g., calls to buy puts) has circulated, adding to negative sentiment and amplifying short-term downside risk absent strong earnings. Booking Holdings: The Cracks Are Showing And It’s Time To Buy Puts
• Neutral Sentiment: One data entry shows a conflicting/erroneous short-interest report (0 shares, NaN change) — investors should rely on official exchange short-interest releases for positioning decisions.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $180.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20. Booking has a 1-year low of $150.62 and a 1-year high of $233.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $173.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.06.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $46.88. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 128.99% and a net margin of 20.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Booking will post 10.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.26%.

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.