Vest Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC opened a new position in Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) in Q4, buying 56,290 shares valued at about $15.95 million.
• Expedia beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.78 vs. $3.32 estimate and revenue of $3.55 billion vs. $3.41 billion, with revenue up 11.4% year‑over‑year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 (annualized $1.92, yield 0.8%), and roughly 90.76% of shares are held by institutional investors.

Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 56,290 shares of the online travel company's stock, valued at approximately $15,948,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EXPE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 24,899.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,808,466 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $386,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801,232 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 25.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,645,732 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $779,275,000 after purchasing an additional 728,063 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Expedia Group by 465.6% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 452,867 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $96,800,000 after buying an additional 372,798 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Expedia Group by 1,933.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 357,635 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $76,444,000 after buying an additional 340,050 shares during the period. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 9.2% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 3,682,100 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $787,049,000 after buying an additional 309,900 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $242.17 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $144.69 and a fifty-two week high of $303.80. The firm has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50 day moving average price is $232.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.46.

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. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 72.23% and a net margin of 8.78%.The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. 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. Expedia Group's payout ratio is presently 19.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Expedia Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on Expedia Group from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Expedia Group from $294.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Argus dropped their price objective on Expedia Group from $345.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $282.74.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total transaction of $1,816,244.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 102,480 shares in the company, valued at $22,629,633.60. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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