Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on BKNG. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on Booking from $6,100.00 to $5,600.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,327.28.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,494.64 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4,717.39 and a 200 day moving average of $4,763.18. The company has a market capitalization of $147.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.