Expedia Group’s (EXPE) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their neutral rating on shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $210.00 price objective on the online travel company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $180.00.

EXPE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upgraded Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Expedia Group from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.93.

Expedia Group Stock Up 17.3 %

EXPE opened at $202.37 on Friday. Expedia Group has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $205.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly 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 7.97% and a return on equity of 49.25%. Equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 8.76 earnings per share 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 represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $351,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,174,510. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the second quarter worth approximately $1,159,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,864 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,393 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Expedia Group by 54.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 12.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,865 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.