Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Price Target Raised to $217.00

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $200.00 to $217.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the online travel company’s stock.

EXPE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.64.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $203.20 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.15. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73. The company has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.82. 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 (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $351,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,345,000. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,951 shares of company stock valued at $3,900,580. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,621,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $58,367,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,196 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in Expedia Group by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 854,262 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $159,175,000 after buying an additional 361,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.