Booking FY2026 EPS Forecast Reduced by Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group cut its FY2026 EPS forecast for Booking to $10.42 (from $10.65), versus a consensus of $10.45, and projects FY2027 EPS of $12.37.
• Multiple analysts trimmed price targets and ratings (Oppenheimer, Mizuho, BMO, Sanford and Wall Street Zen among them), yet MarketBeat's consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $227.14 target.
• Booking beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.14 vs. $1.08, revenue $5.53B vs. $5.52B) with 16.2% YoY revenue growth, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 (1.0% yield).

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) - Erste Group Bank reduced their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Booking in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $10.42 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $10.65. The consensus estimate for Booking's current full-year earnings is $10.45 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Booking's FY2027 earnings at $12.37 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Booking from $216.28 to $187.92 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Booking from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.14.

Booking Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $171.28 on Friday. Booking has a 52 week low of $150.62 and a 52 week high of $233.58. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $174.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.21. The stock has a market cap of $132.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 28.0% during the first quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 361 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 91,178 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $383,842,000 after buying an additional 2,039 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2.4% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,537 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $111,729,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $86,417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,876 shares of company stock valued at $10,355,414. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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