Expedia Group’s (EXPE) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. BTIG Research currently has a $330.00 price objective on the online travel company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on EXPE. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.65.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $240.04 on Monday. Expedia Group has a 1 year low of $130.01 and a 1 year high of $303.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $244.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $243.66. The firm has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.41.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.46. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 72.23% and a net margin of 8.78%.The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Expedia Group’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.49%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total transaction of $1,816,244.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 102,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,629,633.60. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,765 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $4,467,000 after purchasing an additional 7,062 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 61,211 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $17,344,000 after buying an additional 9,256 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 201,805 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $57,151,000 after buying an additional 7,127 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.