StockNews.com Upgrades Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research raised their target price on Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $137.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.67.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $183.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $192.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $171.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,035,922.13. This represents a 38.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 198,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,811,480.90. This represents a 4.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,197,710 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 93.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 217 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 709.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $74,000. 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.