Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE Shares Sold by U S Global Investors Inc.

Key Points

• U S Global Investors reduced its Expedia Group stake by 20.7% in the third quarter, selling 15,295 shares and retaining 58,645 shares valued at approximately $15.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.76% of EXPE.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with 18 Buy, 20 Hold, and one Sell rating. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $316.37.
• Expedia reported quarterly earnings of $5.76 per share, beating estimates of $5.22, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $4.32 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

U S Global Investors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 20.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,645 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 15,295 shares during the period. Expedia Group makes up 1.5% of U S Global Investors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. U S Global Investors Inc.'s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $15,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Expedia Group during the second quarter worth about $2,562,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 47.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,146 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $8,226,000 after acquiring an additional 10,331 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the second quarter worth about $166,203,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 67.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 780,140 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $199,622,000 after acquiring an additional 314,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the first quarter worth about $910,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price target on Expedia Group in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Melius Research set a $355.00 price target on Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush boosted their price target on Expedia Group from $334.00 to $417.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Expedia Group from $307.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $316.37.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,133 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.52, for a total value of $1,029,253.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,832 shares in the company, valued at $9,800,408.64. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $336,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 104,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,950,885. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 11,950 shares of company stock worth $3,881,995 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $298.49 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $185.34 and a 52-week high of $342.00. The stock has a market cap of $35.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is $290.69 and its 200-day moving average is $266.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.22 by $0.54. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 87.32% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.24 earnings per share. Expedia Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.26 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 27th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is currently 11.97%.

Expedia Group Profile

Expedia Group, Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with a broad range of travel products and services. Its offerings include hotel and vacation-rental accommodations, flights, car rentals, cruises, activities, and travel packages. The company serves consumers through its online travel brands and also provides technology, distribution, and marketing solutions to travel suppliers and other business partners.

Expedia Group's consumer brands include Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif, ebookers, CheapTickets, Abritel, and FeWo-direkt, among others.

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