Expedia Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 8,389 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,744 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Expedia Group by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 21.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 80,869 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $11,971,000 after purchasing an additional 14,177 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $245,000. LMR Partners LLP raised its position in Expedia Group by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 2,270 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 9,802 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $173.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $207.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.76.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. Research analysts forecast that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on EXPE shares. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.