Expedia Group’s (EXPE) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $210.00 price objective on the online travel company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $180.00.

EXPE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Expedia Group from $137.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.93.

Expedia Group Trading Up 17.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $202.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $205.12.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 55.42%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total transaction of $1,273,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,035,922.13. This trade represents a 38.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,174,510. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 709.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

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.