Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5,299.29.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Benchmark upped their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 1.5 %

BKNG stock traded down $79.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $5,086.10. The company had a trading volume of 228,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,408. The stock has a market cap of $165.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $4,672.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,846.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $20.39 EPS. Analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.89%.

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.