Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Research Coverage Started at Wedbush

Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $211.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

BKNG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.29.

Booking Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $181.68 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $169.88 and its 200 day moving average is $178.97. Booking has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $140.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The business’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $51,396,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Booking by 862.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,890,000 after acquiring an additional 195,411 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $210,352,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 64,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $347,604,000 after acquiring an additional 11,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage on Booking Holdings with an “outperform” rating and a $211 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels and suggesting Wall Street still sees room for the stock to recover. Wedbush initiates coverage on Booking
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for Booking to $10.39 from $10.42, a small reduction but still close to the consensus estimate of $10.43, so the change was not a major earnings shock.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent articles noted that Booking fell more than the broader market, indicating traders were selling the stock alongside a weaker tape and possibly taking profits after its strong run. Why Booking Holdings fell more than broader market

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.