KBC Group NV Acquires 3,810 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Expedia by 4.3%, acquiring 3,810 shares to own 91,643 shares (about 0.07% of the company) valued at roughly $25.96 million; institutional ownership stands near 90.76%.
• Expedia beat latest-quarter expectations with EPS $3.78 vs. $3.32 and revenue of $3.55B (up 11.4% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 ($1.92 annualized, 0.7% yield).
• Wall Street is mixed—14 Buys and 22 Holds—with a consensus target of $282.42 while the stock trades around $265.84 (market cap about $32.6B, P/E ~27).

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,643 shares of the online travel company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.07% of Expedia Group worth $25,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Expedia Group by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in Expedia Group by 103.8% during the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 161 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $265.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $228.26 and a 200 day moving average of $246.03. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.20 and a 52 week high of $303.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.46. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 72.23% and a net margin of 8.78%.The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group's payout ratio is 19.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Expedia Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Expedia Group from $252.00 to $246.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total value of $1,816,244.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 102,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,629,633.60. This trade represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Profile

Expedia Group NASDAQ: EXPE is a global travel technology company that operates an online marketplace connecting consumers, travel suppliers and third‑party partners. The company's platform enables search, comparison and booking of travel products and services, including hotels, airline tickets, vacation rentals, car rentals, cruises and packaged travel. Its portfolio comprises consumer-facing travel brands as well as corporate travel solutions and technology services that serve both leisure and business travelers.

Key offerings include consumer booking platforms and mobile apps that aggregate inventory from hotels, vacation rental managers, airlines and car rental companies, alongside ancillary travel services such as trip insurance and activities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.