Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Trading Down 7.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)’s share price fell 7.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $281.00 to $225.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Expedia Group traded as low as $189.19 and last traded at $188.7520. 527,455 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,695,567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.48.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Expedia Group from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Expedia Group from $294.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.00, for a total transaction of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $752,328. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expedia Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 150 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $266.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.60.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.46. The business 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%.Expedia Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.24%.

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.