Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Trading 7.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s share price rose 7.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $180.20 and last traded at $181.6340. 1,061,513 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 8,909,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Argus increased their target price on Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.14.

Booking Stock Up 6.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $139.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.04.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its position in Booking by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.1% during the third quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.4% during the third quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.