Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Booking Holdings Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from 32 brokerages, with 19 buy ratings and a price target of approximately $5,781.03.
• The company reported earnings of $55.40 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates, and its revenue increased by 16.0% year-over-year.
• Booking announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-two research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5,781.0370.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6,700.00 target price (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,476.89, for a total value of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 400.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Booking stock traded up $51.52 on Friday, hitting $5,583.52. The stock had a trading volume of 45,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,657. Booking has a one year low of $3,665.54 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $5,558.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5,131.66. The stock has a market cap of $180.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $41.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.