Expedia Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 8,389 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,744 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EXPE shares. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Expedia Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,520 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Expedia Group by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 25,499 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Expedia Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,149 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Stock Up 0.4 %

EXPE stock opened at $173.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group has a twelve month low of $107.25 and a twelve month high of $207.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $183.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

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.