Oak Thistle LLC Cuts Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC cut its stake in Expedia Group by 87.3% in Q4, selling 8,819 shares and retaining 1,283 shares worth about $363,000 at period end.
• Institutional activity is heavy (institutions and hedge funds own ~90.76%), with several managers adding or initiating positions, while analysts are mixed — the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $282.45.
• Expedia recently beat estimates with Q4 EPS of $3.78 (vs. $3.32 expected) and $3.55B revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 (annualized $1.92, ~0.8% yield).

Oak Thistle LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 87.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,283 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 8,819 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Expedia Group were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1,735.0% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 42,223 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $9,025,000 after buying an additional 39,922 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,063,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,001,000. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 115,200 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $24,624,000 after buying an additional 18,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 39,700 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $8,486,000 after buying an additional 4,853 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Expedia Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $252.00 to $246.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $266.00 price target on Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $345.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $282.45.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $228.09 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $227.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.02. The stock has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $144.20 and a one year high of $303.80.

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

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Expedia Group's payout ratio is currently 19.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total transaction of $1,816,244.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 102,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,629,633.60. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.13% of the company's stock.

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.

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