Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to “Neutral” Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $250.00 target price on the online travel company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $190.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. KeyCorp began coverage on Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Benchmark raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $211.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $222.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and twenty-three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE traded up $38.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $258.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,650,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,026,855. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $130.01 and a 52-week high of $264.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $219.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.05. The company has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.58.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The online travel company reported $7.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.10 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 56.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.13 EPS. Expedia Group has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.31%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 3,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.84, for a total value of $663,977.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 77,075 shares in the company, valued at $15,479,743. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 852 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.88, for a total value of $175,409.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,477,971.68. This represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,816 shares of company stock valued at $2,009,132 over the last three months. 9.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expedia Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter worth $325,000. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 55.1% in the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 177,934 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $29,911,000 after purchasing an additional 63,244 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 3,369.4% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,029,117 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $172,995,000 after purchasing an additional 999,454 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the first quarter worth about $1,648,000. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the 1st quarter worth about $574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.