Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Buy Rating at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reiterated their buy rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $250.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Booking from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna set a $260.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Friday, February 20th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $309.84 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $244.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price objective on Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.72.

Booking Trading Up 0.3%

BKNG stock opened at $173.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. Booking has a 12-month low of $150.62 and a 12-month high of $233.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $27.56 by ($26.42). The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The business’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Booking will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 25.26%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.21, for a total value of $204,214.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,502.40. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,876 shares of company stock worth $10,559,629. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Booking by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,132,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 229.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 339.0% in the 3rd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Booking by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 72,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,009,000 after purchasing an additional 4,589 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations on key metrics — revenue and bookings grew double digits and EBITDA/revenue showed strength, which underpins the near-term bullish case. Booking Holdings Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted AI initiatives that are cutting costs and improving customer experience — investors see operational leverage from AI as a medium-term tailwind. Booking Holdings AI Assistants Slash Costs and Boost Bookings
• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK launched a conversational “Ask AI” feature that showcases product-level innovation and could help user engagement and conversion. KAYAK Launches Ask AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options flow: very large spikes in both calls and puts (massive call buying but also a surge in puts) — implies heightened short-term speculation and hedging rather than a one-sided directional bet. (Market data summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Company cut its full‑year outlook, citing the Middle East conflict’s hit to travel demand — the guidance pullback is the primary reason some investors trimmed multiple months of optimism. Booking Holdings Cuts Full-Year Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Broad analyst re‑ratings: several firms trimmed price targets (Goldman, Citi, HSBC, Mizuho, Deutsche Bank, RBC and others), putting downward pressure on sentiment despite many ratings remaining “buy/overweight.” Example: Goldman PT adjustment. Goldman Sachs Adjusts PT on Booking
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and large‑fund activity shows selling pressure (notable insider sales reported and some hedge‑fund trimming), which can sap conviction for short-term buyers. Quiver Quant — Insider Trading & Hedge Fund Moves
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing geopolitical and macro uncertainty (fuel/airline cost pressures, region-specific travel weakness) keeps the outlook uncertain and helps explain the muted price response to the quarter. Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

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.