Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock traded up $58.44 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5,049.08. The company had a trading volume of 350,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,688. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4,901.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,580.38. The company has a market capitalization of $167.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.39. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.60%. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking will post 207.62 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Booking by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.2% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Booking by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Booking by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile

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.