Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 185,300 shares, an increase of 23.2% from the December 15th total of 150,400 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 138,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TZOO. StockNews.com downgraded Travelzoo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Travelzoo from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Ascendiant Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Travelzoo from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Travelzoo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TZOO traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $20.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 84,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,899. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.69. Travelzoo has a 52-week low of $7.12 and a 52-week high of $22.44. The company has a market cap of $247.56 million, a P/E ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 1.71.

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $20.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.15 million. Travelzoo had a return on equity of 210.54% and a net margin of 16.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Travelzoo will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelzoo announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Azzurro Capital Inc sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,837,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,662,193.92. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Holger Bartel sold 23,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.73, for a total transaction of $454,914.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,920. The trade was a 85.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 265,557 shares of company stock valued at $4,672,865 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 47.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Travelzoo

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Travelzoo during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Travelzoo during the third quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Travelzoo in the third quarter worth approximately $138,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Travelzoo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $173,000. 27.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Travelzoo

Travelzoo, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an Internet media company that provides travel, entertainment, and local experiences worldwide. It operates in four segments: Travelzoo North America, Travelzoo Europe, Jack's Flight Club, and New Initiatives. The company offers Travelzoo website, Travelzoo Top 20 email newsletters, Standalone email newsletters, Travelzoo Network, Travelzoo mobile applications, Jack's Flight Club website, Jack's Flight Club mobile applications, and Jack's Flight Club newsletters.