Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $3,472.91, but opened at $3,700.00. Booking shares last traded at $3,700.00, with a volume of 159,825 shares traded.

The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.60 EPS.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. B. Riley began coverage on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,823.00.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445 over the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 8.8% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,188,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,841,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council raised its position in Booking by 382.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,523.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,395.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40.

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.