By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE – Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,360 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Expedia Group by 2.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Expedia Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Expedia Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHE LLC boosted its position in Expedia Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHE LLC now owns 6,689 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Expedia Group Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $196.91 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.12 and a 200-day moving average of $165.21.
Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34.
Insider Transactions at Expedia Group
In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently issued reports on EXPE. Baird R W upgraded Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on EXPE
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.
See Also
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