Brokerages Set Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Price Target at $193.61

Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $193.61.

A number of research firms recently commented on EXPE. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. HSBC upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $162.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.90. The company has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released 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 52.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted 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. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 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.