Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Given New $205.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) had its price target upped by DA Davidson from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the online travel company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wedbush increased their target price on Expedia Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.93.

Expedia Group Stock Up 17.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $202.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $205.12.

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 return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 5.60 % 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, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total transaction of $1,273,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,035,922.13. This trade represents a 38.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,174,510. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 709.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.