Erste Group Bank Decreases Earnings Estimates for Booking

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) – Erste Group Bank cut their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Booking in a report issued on Friday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $12.33 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $12.36. The consensus estimate for Booking’s current full-year earnings is $10.48 per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on Booking in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Argus boosted their target price on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.98.

Booking Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $168.52 on Tuesday. Booking has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $126.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $193.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,800,000. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,274 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,935.6% during the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 6,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 6,341 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $213,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Booking by 3,217.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 759,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $135,437,000 after buying an additional 736,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 3,879.5% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 52,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,342,000 after buying an additional 51,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.