National Pension Service Purchases 40,328 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Expedia Group stake by 13.1% in the second quarter, acquiring 40,328 additional shares and ending with 347,467 shares worth approximately $88.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.76% of EXPE.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with 18 Buy ratings and 22 Hold ratings producing a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $318.71. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Wedbush to $417 and B. Riley to $390.
• Expedia exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $5.76 per share and revenue of $4.32 billion, up 14% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a 0.7% annualized yield.

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 347,467 shares of the online travel company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,328 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.29% of Expedia Group worth $88,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in Expedia Group by 456.7% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,527 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $5,508,000 after purchasing an additional 17,660 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 845 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,112 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $3,355,000 after buying an additional 1,606 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1.7% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,127 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 12.9% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,712 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $41,123,000 after buying an additional 18,321 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EXPE. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Expedia Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Expedia Group from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $370.00 price target on Expedia Group in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $334.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Craig Jacobson sold 3,133 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Dzielak sold 1,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $336,340.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 104,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,950,885. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,950 shares of company stock valued at $3,881,995 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $280.83 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.34 and a 52 week high of $342.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $296.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.51. The company has a market capitalization of $33.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.25.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.54. Expedia Group had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 87.32%. The company had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.97%.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, transportation, activities and other travel-related services. Its consumer brands include Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Orbitz, Wotif and ebookers. Through these platforms, customers can search for and book hotel stays, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities.

The company also provides business-to-business travel technology and booking services through its partnerships with airlines, hotels, financial institutions, retailers and other organizations.

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