Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price Up 7.5% – Here’s Why

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s share price rose 7.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $180.20 and last traded at $181.6340. 1,061,513 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 8,909,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $259.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.14.

Booking Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $169.15 and a 200 day moving average of $183.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.08.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock valued at $13,545,706. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.