Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on EXPE. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Expedia Group from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $265.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $206.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and twenty-four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.16.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $299.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43. Expedia Group has a fifty-two week low of $130.01 and a fifty-two week high of $303.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $270.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.23.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The online travel company reported $7.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.10 by $0.47. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 64.15%. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.55, for a total value of $814,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 30,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,379,489.90. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.00, for a total transaction of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $752,328. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,849 shares of company stock worth $1,283,270 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $2,098,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 319 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,658 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,201 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

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.