Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

EXPE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.85.

Expedia Group Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $159.61 on Wednesday. Expedia Group has a 1 year low of $92.48 and a 1 year high of $161.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.79.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The online travel company reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.34. Expedia Group had a net margin of 6.09% and a return on equity of 47.55%. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Expedia Group will post 8.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.60, for a total value of $729,128.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,543 shares in the company, valued at $11,379,487.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 198,505 shares in the company, valued at $29,811,480.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.60, for a total transaction of $729,128.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 84,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,379,487.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,019 shares of company stock valued at $5,390,191. Company insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 24,351 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $3,354,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,601 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Expedia Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 7.1% during the second quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 93.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 217 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.