Katamaran Capital LLP Invests $2.52 Million in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Katamaran Capital LLP bought a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 13,543 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,523,000. Expedia Group accounts for 3.2% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Expedia Group by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EXPE. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $141.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.78.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Expedia Group Profile

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.