Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Upgraded to “Hold” at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EXPE. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Expedia Group from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Expedia Group from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Argus increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citic Securities cut their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.71.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $304.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $292.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Expedia Group has a one year low of $185.34 and a one year high of $342.00.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.17 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 87.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.24 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 17.15 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.65, for a total transaction of $909,456.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,006 shares in the company, valued at $3,885,741.90. This trade represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total value of $1,095,566.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,569,384. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,652 shares of company stock valued at $4,977,561. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 272.9% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.