Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE Shares Bought by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 174.0%, owning approximately 1.12% of the company valued at $235.6 million.
• Expedia Group reported earnings of $4.24 per share, beating estimates, with revenues of $3.79 billion, an increase of 6.4% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, providing an annualized yield of 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 19.61%.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 174.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,444,283 shares of the online travel company's stock after acquiring an additional 917,192 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.12% of Expedia Group worth $235,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE traded down $1.57 on Friday, reaching $214.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,353,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,838,513. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.46 and a 1 year high of $219.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.12.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The online travel company reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.13 by $0.11. Expedia Group had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 56.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.51 earnings per share. Expedia Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Expedia Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.88, for a total transaction of $175,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,477,971.68. This represents a 6.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 3,306 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.84, for a total transaction of $663,977.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,479,743. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,816 shares of company stock valued at $2,009,132 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on EXPE. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Expedia Group from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Expedia Group from $177.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. BTIG Research set a $250.00 price target on Expedia Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark raised their price target on Expedia Group from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $205.63.

About Expedia Group

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.