Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $193.43.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Melius upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $165.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Expedia Group has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $184.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.26.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Research analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 in the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 165.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,617 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $4,960,000 after acquiring an additional 16,587 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,899,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,555,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,430 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.