Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Expedia Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 9th. TD Cowen raised Expedia Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Expedia Group from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $316.00.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE stock traded down $3.08 on Thursday, hitting $257.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,122,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,199. The stock has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $276.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Expedia Group has a 1 year low of $185.34 and a 1 year high of $342.00.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The online travel company reported $9.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.85 by $0.54. Expedia Group had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 91.03%. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.57 EPS. Expedia Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 17.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 2,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.65, for a total transaction of $909,456.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,885,741.90. This represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $336,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 104,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,950,885. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,814 shares of company stock valued at $1,906,796. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the second quarter worth about $166,203,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 104.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,191,528 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $275,112,000 after buying an additional 607,698 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 67.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 780,140 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $199,622,000 after buying an additional 314,984 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $53,254,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Expedia Group by 201.3% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 276,150 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $63,761,000 after acquiring an additional 184,507 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc. is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities. Its consumer-facing brands include Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, which specializes in vacation rentals. The company also provides travel technology and booking services to business partners. Founded in 1996 as a division of Microsoft, Expedia became an independent public company in 1999. It serves travelers and lodging partners in markets around the world through its websites and mobile apps.