Expedia Group’s (EXPE) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $200.00 price target on the online travel company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Argus lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Expedia Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.75.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $168.47 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.97 and a 200 day moving average of $159.53. The company has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $192.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The online travel company reported $5.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.42 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $5,174,510. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

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

Expedia Group Company 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.