Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.43.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXPE. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $165.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.26. Expedia Group has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73.

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

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase 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 is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.