Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $227.1388.

Several analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $161.06 on Friday. Booking has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $233.58. The company has a market capitalization of $124.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $171.06 and a 200-day moving average of $187.47.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 34,576 shares of company stock worth $6,187,746 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in Booking by 25.0% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 15,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,092,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Booking by 599.4% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 2,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,410,000. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in Booking by 593.0% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 2,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 7.5% during the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,850,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.