FY2027 EPS Estimates for Booking Lifted by Erste Group Bank

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Booking in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 8th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the business services provider will earn $12.36 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $12.33. The consensus estimate for Booking’s current full-year earnings is $10.48 per share.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.70.

Booking Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $171.32 on Monday. Booking has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $225.00. The firm has a market cap of $128.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $193.64 and a 200-day moving average of $179.02.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,271,041,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.