Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,174 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Expedia Group makes up about 0.8% of Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $5,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 709.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $171.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $192.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.77 and a 200 day moving average of $158.62. The company has a market cap of $22.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.83.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The online travel company reported $5.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.42 by ($0.24). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXPE has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.75.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,035,922.13. The trade was a 38.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,951 shares of company stock valued at $3,476,610 in the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Profile

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.