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 report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $200.00 price objective on the online travel company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $135.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on EXPE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $93.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $110.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, July 31st. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. They set a hold rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Monday, July 31st. They set a neutral rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $129.33.

Expedia Group Trading Down 1.1 %

EXPE opened at $134.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $105.40 and its 200 day moving average price 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.

Expedia Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 2nd that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the online travel company to purchase up to 30.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 477 shares of Expedia Group 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,879.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 72,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,719,777. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 477 shares of the company’s 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,477 shares of company stock worth $10,140,125. Corporate insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $594,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 114.4% in the second quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 268 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 144.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 271 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.15% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Company Profile

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.