Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 185,300 shares, a growth of 23.2% from the December 15th total of 150,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 138,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Travelzoo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price target on Travelzoo from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price objective on Travelzoo from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Activity at Travelzoo

In other Travelzoo news, CEO Holger Bartel sold 23,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.73, for a total transaction of $454,914.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,920. This trade represents a 85.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Azzurro Capital Inc sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,837,696 shares in the company, valued at $72,662,193.92. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 265,557 shares of company stock worth $4,672,865 over the last 90 days. 47.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelzoo

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Travelzoo in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $298,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Travelzoo by 169.5% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 79,990 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Travelzoo by 10.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 82,241 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 7,857 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Travelzoo by 103.5% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 25,274 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Travelzoo by 217.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 34,453 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 23,599 shares during the period. 27.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travelzoo Price Performance

TZOO stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.98. 84,356 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,899. The stock has a market cap of $247.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 1.71. Travelzoo has a 1 year low of $7.12 and a 1 year high of $22.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.69.

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. Travelzoo had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 210.54%. The firm had revenue of $20.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Travelzoo will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelzoo declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 23rd that allows the company to buyback 1,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Travelzoo

Travelzoo, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an Internet media company that provides travel, entertainment, and local experiences worldwide. It operates in four segments: Travelzoo North America, Travelzoo Europe, Jack's Flight Club, and New Initiatives. The company offers Travelzoo website, Travelzoo Top 20 email newsletters, Standalone email newsletters, Travelzoo Network, Travelzoo mobile applications, Jack's Flight Club website, Jack's Flight Club mobile applications, and Jack's Flight Club newsletters.