Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Raised to Buy at BTIG Research

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. BTIG Research currently has $5,500.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,374.90.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,757.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,750.17. The company has a market cap of $140.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.8% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $1,824,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $15,164,000. Finally, Wallace Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Company Profile

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.