Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5,370.43.

Several analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price objective on the stock.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,563.39 on Tuesday. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $149.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4,809.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,687.26.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Adero Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 12,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,660,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 232.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.