Westpac Banking Corp Buys 19,220 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp boosted its Expedia Group stake by 193.7% in the first quarter, buying 19,220 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 29,141 shares worth about $6.73 million.
• Expedia Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 beating estimates by $0.55 and revenue of $3.43 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 14.7% year over year.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings, the stock has support from Wall Street: Expedia currently carries a Hold consensus, with an average price target of $288.52, while shares recently traded around $264.94.

Westpac Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 193.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,141 shares of the online travel company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,220 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Expedia Group were worth $6,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 3,682,100 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $787,049,000 after buying an additional 309,900 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,645,732 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $779,275,000 after buying an additional 728,063 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,122,842 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $667,507,000 after acquiring an additional 230,176 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $861,979,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Expedia Group by 24,899.5% during 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. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of EXPE opened at $264.94 on Wednesday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.05 and a 12-month high of $303.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $242.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $244.22.

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

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total transaction of $1,095,566.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 105,448 shares in the company, valued at $24,569,384. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on EXPE. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wedbush initiated coverage on Expedia Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $334.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Expedia Group from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Expedia Group from $266.00 to $262.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $288.52.

Expedia Group Company 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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