Zacks Research Upgrades Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) to “Strong-Buy”

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on EXPE. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price target on Expedia Group in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Expedia Group from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 9th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $316.00.

Expedia Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of EXPE traded down $3.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $257.97. 1,122,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,153,199. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $276.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.39. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $185.34 and a 12-month high of $342.00.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The online travel company reported $9.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.85 by $0.54. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 91.03% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.57 EPS. Expedia Group’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 17.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 2,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.65, for a total transaction of $909,456.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,885,741.90. This trade represents a 18.97% 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, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 2,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total transaction of $661,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 105,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,813,217.50. This trade represents a 1.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,814 shares of company stock worth $1,906,796 in the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter worth $166,203,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Expedia Group by 104.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,191,528 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $275,112,000 after purchasing an additional 607,698 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Expedia Group by 67.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 780,140 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $199,622,000 after purchasing an additional 314,984 shares in the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,254,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 201.3% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 276,150 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $63,761,000 after buying an additional 184,507 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group, Inc. is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities. Its consumer-facing brands include Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, which specializes in vacation rentals. The company also provides travel technology and booking services to business partners. Founded in 1996 as a division of Microsoft, Expedia became an independent public company in 1999. It serves travelers and lodging partners in markets around the world through its websites and mobile apps.