UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group cut Expedia’s price target from $351 to $328 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 13.44% upside from the reported $289.15 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Expedia has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $315.71, based on 18 Buy, 20 Hold, and one Sell recommendation.
• Expedia reported quarterly earnings of $5.76 per share, beating estimates of $5.22, while revenue reached $4.32 billion and rose 14% year over year; insiders have sold nearly 12,000 shares worth about $3.88 million over the past quarter.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by UBS Group from $351.00 to $328.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the online travel company's stock. UBS Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 13.44% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $255.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.71.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock traded down $9.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $289.15. 484,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,984,354. Expedia Group has a 52 week low of $185.34 and a 52 week high of $342.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $285.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.36.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.17 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 87.32% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 17.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 3,003 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $945,945.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 103,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,706,135. The trade was a 2.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,133 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.52, for a total value of $1,029,253.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,800,408.64. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,950 shares of company stock valued at $3,881,995. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 100 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Team Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 272.9% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 1,618.8% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 275 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with a broad range of travel products and services. Its offerings include hotel and vacation-rental accommodations, flights, car rentals, cruises, activities, and travel packages. The company serves consumers through its online travel brands and also provides technology, distribution, and marketing solutions to travel suppliers and other business partners.

Expedia Group's consumer brands include Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif, ebookers, CheapTickets, Abritel, and FeWo-direkt, among others.

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