Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

EXPE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $334.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Argus increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Expedia Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $316.79.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $281.02 on Friday. Expedia Group has a twelve month low of $185.34 and a twelve month high of $342.00. The firm has a market cap of $33.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $298.67 and a 200-day moving average of $260.15.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.54. Expedia Group had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 87.32%. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 17.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 11.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,004 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $336,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 104,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,950,885. The trade was a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,133 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.52, for a total value of $1,029,253.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,800,408.64. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,950 shares of company stock worth $3,881,995. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in Expedia Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 5,270 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,389 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, transportation, activities and other travel-related services. Its consumer brands include Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Orbitz, Wotif and ebookers. Through these platforms, customers can search for and book hotel stays, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities.

The company also provides business-to-business travel technology and booking services through its partnerships with airlines, hotels, financial institutions, retailers and other organizations.