Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 76.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,392 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 121,909 shares during the period. Expedia Group accounts for about 0.4% of Empowered Funds LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $64,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EXPE. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 1st quarter worth $17,317,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in Expedia Group by 45.5% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 8,060 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 1st quarter valued at $910,000. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 53,184 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $12,280,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 58.9% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,351 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after buying an additional 2,726 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $278.37 on Tuesday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.05 and a 12 month high of $303.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $245.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $243.54.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Expedia Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EXPE shares. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on Expedia Group from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Expedia Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Expedia Group from $266.00 to $262.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.64.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total value of $208,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,454.38. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total value of $1,095,566.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,569,384. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is a global travel technology company that operates an online marketplace connecting consumers, travel suppliers and third?party partners. The company’s platform enables search, comparison and booking of travel products and services, including hotels, airline tickets, vacation rentals, car rentals, cruises and packaged travel. Its portfolio comprises consumer-facing travel brands as well as corporate travel solutions and technology services that serve both leisure and business travelers.

Key offerings include consumer booking platforms and mobile apps that aggregate inventory from hotels, vacation rental managers, airlines and car rental companies, alongside ancillary travel services such as trip insurance and activities.