Longbow Finance SA Invests $3.61 Million in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA purchased 21,495 shares of Expedia Group, Inc. for approximately $3.61 million during the first quarter, marking a new position for the firm.
• Expedia reported $0.40 earnings per share for the last quarter, below analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 8.48% and revenue of $2.99 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing an annualized dividend of $1.60, which equates to a 0.84% dividend yield.

Longbow Finance SA acquired a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,495 shares of the online travel company's stock, valued at approximately $3,613,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXPE. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Expedia Group from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $194.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.92.

Expedia Group Stock Down 0.2%

EXPE traded down $0.43 on Monday, hitting $186.92. 780,834 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,094,759. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.20 and a 12 month high of $207.73. The company has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock's fifty day moving average is $172.39 and its 200-day moving average is $172.55.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The online travel company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Expedia Group had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 52.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.87%.

Expedia Group Profile

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.