Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Short Interest Update

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,708,399 shares, a decline of 18.3% from the February 26th total of 8,210,795 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,846,629 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $227.57. 716,970 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,696,282. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.82. Expedia Group has a 1 year low of $130.01 and a 1 year high of $303.80. The company has a market cap of $27.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 72.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.49%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total value of $1,816,244.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 102,480 shares in the company, valued at $22,629,633.60. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EXPE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Expedia Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $244.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $329.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Expedia Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.77.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is a global travel technology company that operates an online marketplace connecting consumers, travel suppliers and third‑party partners. The company’s platform enables search, comparison and booking of travel products and services, including hotels, airline tickets, vacation rentals, car rentals, cruises and packaged travel. Its portfolio comprises consumer-facing travel brands as well as corporate travel solutions and technology services that serve both leisure and business travelers.

Key offerings include consumer booking platforms and mobile apps that aggregate inventory from hotels, vacation rental managers, airlines and car rental companies, alongside ancillary travel services such as trip insurance and activities.