Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5,867.0909.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,000.00 price objective (down from $5,750.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $5,850.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $5,500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $6,100.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,440.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,752.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,082.39. Booking has a one year low of $3,765.45 and a one year high of $5,839.41.

Booking’s stock is set to split on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.96 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $41.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $10.50 per share. This represents a $42.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $9.60. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,181.34, for a total value of $4,937,817.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 19,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,631,984.10. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,108 shares of company stock valued at $15,287,682 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Booking

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.