TripAdvisor, Inc. $TRIP Stock: Ballast Asset Management LP Raises Stake

Ballast Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,025 shares of the travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125,380 shares during the quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP owned 0.26% of TripAdvisor worth $2,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in TripAdvisor in the second quarter valued at approximately $239,065,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in TripAdvisor by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,966,046 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $68,084,000 after buying an additional 77,501 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in TripAdvisor by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,973,534 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $42,356,000 after buying an additional 210,591 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in TripAdvisor by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 1,840,229 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $15,403,000 after buying an additional 446,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Converium Capital Inc. purchased a new position in TripAdvisor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,460,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TripAdvisor Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TRIP opened at $7.12 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.89 and its 200 day moving average is $10.88. The stock has a market cap of $834.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.87. TripAdvisor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.82 and a 1-year high of $16.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The travel company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $436.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.39 million. TripAdvisor had a return on equity of 4.23% and a net margin of 0.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TripAdvisor, Inc. will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at TripAdvisor

In other TripAdvisor news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of TripAdvisor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total transaction of $75,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,809.20. This trade represents a 20.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TRIP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of TripAdvisor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of TripAdvisor from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of TripAdvisor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of TripAdvisor in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.25.

TripAdvisor Company Profile

Tripadvisor, Inc (NASDAQ: TRIP) operates a global travel guidance and experiences platform. Its flagship Tripadvisor brand provides user-generated reviews, ratings, photos and travel information covering hotels, restaurants, attractions and destinations, helping travelers research and plan trips.

The company also operates Viator, an online marketplace for tours, activities and other travel experiences, and TheFork, a digital restaurant reservation platform serving diners and restaurants.