Wedbush Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by stock analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,RTT News reports. They presently have a $215.00 price target on the online travel company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $180.00. Wedbush’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.24% from the stock’s previous close.

EXPE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HSBC upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Melius upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.93.

Expedia Group Trading Up 17.3 %

EXPE stock traded up $29.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $202.37. 9,377,415 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,024,498. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $182.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82. 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 one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $205.12.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. Equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,035,922.13. The trade was a 38.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock worth $5,174,510. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expedia Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 33.7% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,791,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,823 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after purchasing an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 649,716 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $96,171,000 after purchasing an additional 75,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $527,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.