Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Expedia Group to “strong-buy” from “buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with 18 buy, 21 hold and one sell rating and an average price target of $316.79.
• Expedia reported quarterly EPS of $5.76, beating estimates of $5.22, while revenue reached $4.32 billion and rose 14% year over year.
• EXPE opened at $279.35, below its 50-day moving average of $298.37 but above its 200-day average of $259.36; insiders have sold nearly $3.9 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 90.76% of shares.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on EXPE. TD Cowen upgraded Expedia Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price target on Expedia Group in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $255.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $316.79.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $279.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $298.37 and a 200-day moving average of $259.36. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $185.34 and a 12-month high of $342.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The company has a market cap of $33.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.25.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.54. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 87.32% and a net margin of 12.97%.The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 17.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert Dzielak sold 3,003 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $945,945.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 103,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,706,135. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lance Soliday sold 2,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.65, for a total transaction of $909,456.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,885,741.90. This trade represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,950 shares of company stock valued at $3,881,995. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 47.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,146 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 10,331 shares during the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the second quarter worth about $255,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 347,467 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $88,910,000 after buying an additional 40,328 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 456.7% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,527 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $5,508,000 after buying an additional 17,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 845 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company's stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, transportation, activities and other travel-related services. Its consumer brands include Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Orbitz, Wotif and ebookers. Through these platforms, customers can search for and book hotel stays, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities.

The company also provides business-to-business travel technology and booking services through its partnerships with airlines, hotels, financial institutions, retailers and other organizations.

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