Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $145.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.93.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXPE traded up $29.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $202.37. The company had a trading volume of 9,377,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,498. 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 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $205.12. The company has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.07 and a 200-day moving average of $159.92.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 49.25%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,174,510. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,596 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $12,968,000 after acquiring an additional 20,925 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 1,632.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 104,653 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $19,500,000 after buying an additional 98,611 shares during the period. Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $319,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Expedia Group by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,370 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Expedia Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,236 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. 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.