Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

EXPE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $148.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, August 9th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.77.

Expedia Group Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE traded up $2.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $148.48. 1,225,697 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,281,990. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $92.48 and a 12-month high of $160.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.30. The firm has a market cap of $20.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.79.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The online travel company reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.17 by $0.34. Expedia Group had a net margin of 6.09% and a return on equity of 47.55%. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Expedia Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 8.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 12,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.50, for a total value of $1,657,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,829,740. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 12,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.50, for a total transaction of $1,657,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,829,740. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,417 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.60, for a total value of $729,128.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 84,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,379,487.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 4,525.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 185 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Expedia Group by 93.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 217 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.