Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the forty ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $265.7813.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EXPE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $206.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, December 8th.

Expedia Group Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $274.21 on Friday. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $130.01 and a 52-week high of $282.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.24.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The online travel company reported $7.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.10 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 64.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.13 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.31%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.00, for a total value of $258,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $752,328. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.55, for a total value of $814,650.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,379,489.90. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 4,849 shares of company stock valued at $1,283,270 in the last three months. 9.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Expedia Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,304,305 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $2,581,530,000 after purchasing an additional 102,494 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $663,882,000. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 9.2% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 3,682,100 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $787,049,000 after acquiring an additional 309,900 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 25.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,645,732 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $779,275,000 after acquiring an additional 728,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,414,935 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $574,364,000 after acquiring an additional 58,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

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.