JMP Securities Raises Priceline Group (PCLN) Price Target to $2,100.00

Priceline Group (NASDAQ:PCLN) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at JMP Securities from $1,950.00 to $2,100.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target points to a potential upside of 7.40% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,050.00 target price on shares of Priceline Group in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Priceline Group from $2,100.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,000.00 target price (down from $2,200.00) on shares of Priceline Group in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,150.00 target price on shares of Priceline Group in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, SunTrust Banks reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,200.00 target price on shares of Priceline Group in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,022.47.

Priceline Group (PCLN) traded down $7.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1,955.24. The company had a trading volume of 405,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,270. The stock has a market capitalization of $95,920.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Priceline Group has a 52-week low of $1,552.13 and a 52-week high of $2,067.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Priceline Group (NASDAQ:PCLN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The business services provider reported $35.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $34.31 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. Priceline Group had a return on equity of 33.02% and a net margin of 29.20%. Priceline Group’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $29.69 earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that Priceline Group will post 74.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CEO Gillian Tans sold 122 shares of Priceline Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,930.71, for a total transaction of $235,546.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 5,188 shares in the company, valued at $10,016,523.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jan L. Docter sold 1,200 shares of Priceline Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,764.52, for a total value of $2,117,424.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,561.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,567 shares of company stock worth $2,780,310 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in Priceline Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 553 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Covington Capital Management increased its position in Priceline Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 858 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Bancorpsouth Inc. increased its position in Priceline Group by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bancorpsouth Inc. now owns 128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC increased its position in Priceline Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Advantus Capital Management Inc increased its position in Priceline Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advantus Capital Management Inc now owns 5,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,224,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.60% of the company’s stock.

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About Priceline Group

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.

Analyst Recommendations for Priceline Group (NASDAQ:PCLN)