The Priceline Group Company Profile (NASDAQ:PCLN)

The Priceline Group trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "PCLN."

The Priceline Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PCLN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August, 8th. The company reported $15.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.25 by $0.89. The business earned $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. The Priceline Group had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 20.51%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $13.93 earnings per share. View The Priceline Group's Earnings History.

The Priceline Group is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Monday, November, 6th 2017. View Earnings Estimates for The Priceline Group.

The Priceline Group updated its third quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday, August, 8th. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $32.40-34.10 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus EPS estimate of $34.17.

30 analysts have issued 1-year price targets for The Priceline Group's shares. Their forecasts range from $110.00 to $2,300.00. On average, they expect The Priceline Group's share price to reach $1,929.82 in the next twelve months. View Analyst Ratings for The Priceline Group.

Here are some recent quotes from research analysts about The Priceline Group stock:

• 1. Jefferies Group LLC analysts commented, "PCLN reported a strong qtr but that was not enough and stock declined 6% after the close. Conservative guidance, as usual, did not help either. While gross bookings did not beat high end of guidance for the 1st time in 11 qtrs, we don’t think PCLN’s fundamentals have changed. With gross bookings up 16% Y/Y (vs EXPE’s +12%), PCLN keeps gaining market share. We see any pullback in the stock as a buying opportunity. We maintain our Buy and raise PT to $2,300. PCLN reported a strong qtr with rev up 18% Y/Y to $3.02B vs. cons ests of $2.99B. Adj EBITDA of $974MM was ahead of Street ests of $927MM and guidance of $860-905MM. Non-GAAP EPS of $15.14 easily beat Street’s $14.20 and guidance of $13.30-$14.00. Gross bookings hit $20.80B in Q2 (+16% Y/Y / +19% ex-FX), slightly below cons ests of $21.06B but close to the high end of guidance. We believe this was a fluke and not a sign of fundamental changes. Adj EBITDA margin improved 40bps and remains 2x+ EXPE’s. Agency bookings at $17.95B were slightly below Street’s $18.17B, while Merchant bookings of $2.85B came in slightly above cons at $2.80B. Bookings growth was driven by 21% Y/Y growth in hotel room nights and 12% Y/Y growth in rental car days, offsetting 9% decline in air tickets." (8/4/2017)
• 2. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Priceline.com is one of the leading online travel companies in the world.  The company reported strong first quarter results. Over the last one year, the stock has underperformed the Zacks characterized Electronic Commerce industry. Both agency and merchant businesses showed strong momentum. The secular growth trend in the online travel booking market, Priceline’s strong position in international markets, growth opportunities in the domestic market, good execution, prudent marketing strategy and strong financial position are positives. At the same time, weaker ADRs, macro headwinds, increasing advertising spend and occupancy tax-related litigation remain overhangs." (7/11/2017)
• 3. Stifel Nicolaus analysts commented, "Priceline reported strong 4Q:16 results highlighted by 31% y/y room night growth, 28% y/y FX-adj. bookings growth, and adj. EBITDA margins of 38.2% (gross profit), all exceeding our and consensus expectations. Momentum continued into 1Q:17 as Priceline guided next quarter room nights (20%-25%) and FX-adj. bookings (19%-24%) ahead of our expectations. Pressure on performance marketing ROI is expected to continue into 1Q, though to a lesser degree than the recent past, and the book vs. day time lag and the Easter shift will pressure margins in the quarter. Management noted that performance ad efficiency in 1H:17 will be more favorable than 2H:16. New CEO Glenn Fogel commented that the corporate strategy will not change under his leadership. We are raising our estimates and increasing our price target to $2,100. Overall, we maintain the view Priceline is a high quality asset well positioned to drive continued long-term growth." (2/28/2017)
• 4. Royal Bank Of Canada analysts commented, "We continue pointing to material new growth opportunities that PCLN has been investing in for years: China Outbound, Vacation Rentals & Alternative Accommodations, LatAm, & Business Travel. PCLN still has a long runway ' 65% of global room nights sold are still sold offline and PCLN itself only accounts for around 10% of hotel partner room night sales. Which means that current growth rates should be sustainable+ for a substantial period. PCLN remains one of the best 'Net Large Caps ' both fundamentally and stock wise ' and screens extremely well against our 5M Framework ' excellent Management, deep competitive Moats, highly profitable business Model, a very large Market opportunity, and a reasonable Multiple (21X '18 GAAP P/E on 20%+ EPS growth outlook)." (2/28/2017)

Some companies that are related to The Priceline Group include Inditex (IDEXY), Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), CVS Health Corporation (CVS), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), Kering Unspon (PPRUY), TJX Companies, Inc. (The) (TJX), Hennes & Mauritz AB (HNNMY), Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB de CV (WMMVY), eBay (EBAY), Target Corporation (TGT), Yum! Brands (YUM), Ross Stores (ROST), Dollar General Corporation (DG), Tesco PLC (TSCDY), Dollar Tree (DLTR), O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), Kroger Company (The) (KR) and Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV (AHONY).

The Priceline Group's management team includes the folowing people:

• Jeffery H. Boyd, Executive Chairman of the Board
• Glenn D. Fogel, President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
• Daniel J. Finnegan, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer
• Gillian Tans, President and Chief Executive Officer of Booking.com
• Peter J. Millones Jr., Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
• James M. Guyette, Lead Independent Director
• Robert J. Mylod Jr., Director
• Timothy Armstrong, Independent Director
• Jan L. Docter, Independent Director
• Jeffrey Epstein, Independent Director

The Priceline Group's stock is owned by a number of of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc. (6.68%), Capital World Investors (3.51%), Capital Research Global Investors (3.31%), Harbour Capital Advisors LLC (1.99%), Jennison Associates LLC (1.76%) and Dodge & Cox (1.58%). Company insiders that own The Priceline Group stock include Daniel J Finnegan, Gillian Tans, Glenn D Fogel, Jan L Docter, Jeffery H Boyd and Peter J Millones. View Institutional Ownership Trends for The Priceline Group.

The Priceline Group's stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Myriad Asset Management Ltd., Suntrust Banks Inc., Alliancebernstein L.P., Foxhaven Asset Management LP, Dodge & Cox, Winslow Capital Management LLC, Davis Selected Advisers and Bank of Montreal Can. Company insiders that have sold The Priceline Group stock in the last year include Daniel J Finnegan, Gillian Tans, Glenn D Fogel, Jan L Docter and Jeffery H Boyd. View Insider Buying and Selling for The Priceline Group.

The Priceline Group's stock was bought by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Harbour Capital Advisors LLC, Janus Henderson Group PLC, Capital Research Global Investors, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership, Vanguard Group Inc., American Century Companies Inc., Orbis Allan Gray Ltd and Jennison Associates LLC. View Insider Buying and Selling for The Priceline Group.

Shares of The Priceline Group can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

One share of The Priceline Group stock can currently be purchased for approximately $1,862.13.