Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,500 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,458,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 21.3% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 29,404 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $4,943,000 after acquiring an additional 5,170 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Expedia Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,298 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,899,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 170,824 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $28,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,223 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,640 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $176.65 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.20 and a 1 year high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The online travel company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.60% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark cut their price target on Expedia Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.08.

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.