Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Position in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Expedia Group during the first quarter, buying 6,000 shares valued at about $1.385 million.
• Expedia reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 beating estimates by $0.55 and revenue of $3.43 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 14.7% year over year.
• The stock has seen mixed signals: several insiders sold shares recently, while analysts currently have a Hold consensus rating with a target price of $284.30.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,000 shares of the online travel company's stock, valued at approximately $1,385,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Expedia Group by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 970.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 182 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total value of $208,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,083 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,454.38. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total transaction of $1,095,566.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,569,384. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of EXPE opened at $268.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $236.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. Expedia Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.27 and a twelve month high of $303.80. The company has a market cap of $32.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.23.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 84.33% and a net margin of 9.81%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group's payout ratio is presently 16.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $266.00 to $262.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Expedia Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $240.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Citic Securities cut their price target on Expedia Group from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $284.30.

About Expedia Group

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.

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