Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $227.1388.

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $245.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

BKNG opened at $159.68 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $171.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.87. The company has a market cap of $123.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.10. Booking has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Key Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking Holdings is expanding its ad business across all three OTA brands for the first time, a move that could deepen monetization across Priceline, Booking.com, and Agoda and create a new revenue stream. Booking Holdings to Sell Ads Across All Three OTA Brands for the First Time: Exclusive
• Positive Sentiment: OpenTable announced a Canadian expansion with a new Toronto office lease, signaling continued investment in growth and stronger North American presence. OpenTable Announces Canadian Expansion with New Toronto Office Lease
• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK’s summer travel reports suggest travelers are still booking trips, with demand centered on value, flexibility, and sub-$500 destinations, which supports Booking Holdings’ travel-search and booking platforms heading into the busy summer season. Take the Trip: KAYAK Summer Travel Report Highlights Smart Ways to Save on Summer Travel
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles highlight investor interest in BKNG and its recent conference presentation, but they do not include a major new catalyst beyond keeping the stock on traders’ radar. Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage about Booking Holdings’ prior stock split is helping keep the name visible, but it is not a fresh business driver. Top Travel Stocks To Watch Now – May 19th

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,576 shares of company stock valued at $6,187,746. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,271,041,000. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 28,353.8% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,094,083,000 after acquiring an additional 203,580 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 862.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,890,000 after acquiring an additional 195,411 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.