Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Sets New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $5,116.14 and last traded at $5,099.28, with a volume of 457202 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4,909.23.

The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $20.39 earnings per share.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,262.41.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Booking by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,455,000 after buying an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,495,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,160,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4,649.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,812.32. The stock has a market cap of $166.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.