Jefferies Financial Group Boosts Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $190.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $180.00 to $190.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.08% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Gordon Haskett boosted their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $210.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.55.

Booking Trading Down 1.5%

Booking stock opened at $175.80 on Tuesday. Booking has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.97. The company has a market cap of $136.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% 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. Insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 2,158.3% in the second quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,773.3% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,315.8% during the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 2,461.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 206,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,722,000 after buying an additional 197,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.