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 published on Thursday.

EXPE has been the topic of several other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a neutral rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Expedia Group from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Expedia Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Nineteen 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $149.73.

Expedia Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $149.09 on Thursday. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $92.48 and a 52-week high of $160.05. The stock has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $133.10 and its 200 day moving average is $128.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The online travel company reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.17 by $0.34. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 6.09%. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Expedia Group’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 8.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 12,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.50, for a total transaction of $1,657,163.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,829,740. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 12,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.50, for a total transaction of $1,657,163.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,829,740. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,417 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 84,543 shares in the company, valued at $11,379,487.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXPE. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 176.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,677 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 12,567 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,304 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $298,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $752,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $270,000. 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.