Analysts Set Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Target Price at $236.45

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $236.4529.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Gordon Haskett lifted their price objective on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wedbush upped their target price on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $202.56 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $191.50 and its 200-day moving average is $177.49. The company has a market capitalization of $152.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $226.63.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Booking will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. 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 sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Company Profile

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.