Expedia Group’s (EXPE) “Market Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Expedia Group from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius Research raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $153.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Nineteen 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.93.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $202.37 on Friday. Expedia Group has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $205.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $182.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.92. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. On average, research analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total transaction of $1,273,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,035,922.13. This represents a 38.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,174,510 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. 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.