Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Upgraded to “Outperform” by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $200.00 target price on the online travel company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $135.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on EXPE. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $110.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, July 31st. They set a neutral rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, October 23rd. They set a hold rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $93.00 to $91.00 in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $129.33.

Expedia Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $134.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.66. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $82.39 and a 12-month high of $137.50.

Expedia Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the online travel company to buy up to 30.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.53, for a total transaction of $65,124.81. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,879.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.50, for a total value of $9,415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 72,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,719,777. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.53, for a total value of $65,124.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,879.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,477 shares of company stock valued at $10,140,125. Corporate insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Capital Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the second quarter valued at about $12,058,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $118,582,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 187.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,921,028 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $375,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251,933 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 122.6% in the 1st quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,075,633 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $201,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143,355 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 166.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,192,706 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $130,470,000 after purchasing an additional 745,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.15% of the company’s stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Retail, B2B, and trivago segments. Its brand portfolio includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand with localized websites; Hotels.com for marketing and distributing lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz; Travelocity; Wotif Group; CheapTickets; ebookers; Expedia; Hotwire; CarRentals.com; Classic Vacations; and Expedia Cruise.