Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BKNG. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $151.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,789.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,700.90.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.