Brokerages Set Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) PT at $194.73

Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $194.73.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $143.00 price objective on Expedia Group and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expedia Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,958,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Expedia Group by 299.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 559 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $525,000. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 2,450 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $165.62 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.76. Expedia Group has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change 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 was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

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.