Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $290.7576.

EXPE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citic Securities dropped their price target on Expedia Group from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $244.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $262.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Expedia Group Trading Up 0.6%

EXPE opened at $294.74 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. Expedia Group has a twelve month low of $174.05 and a twelve month high of $312.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.89.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 17.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total value of $208,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,454.38. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total value of $1,095,566.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,569,384. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $861,979,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Expedia Group by 24,899.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,808,466 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $386,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801,232 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,645,732 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $779,275,000 after purchasing an additional 728,063 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 104.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,191,528 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $275,112,000 after purchasing an additional 607,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,286,093 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $364,363,000 after purchasing an additional 456,176 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Expedia Group

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.