FY2026 EPS Estimates for Booking Lowered by Erste Group Bank

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Booking in a research note issued on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $10.39 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $10.42. The consensus estimate for Booking’s current full-year earnings is $10.43 per share.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BKNG. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.29.

Booking Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $184.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $143.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.48. Booking has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80.

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 negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.