Expedia Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 8,389 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 46% compared to the average daily volume of 5,744 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on EXPE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.43.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Expedia Group by 16.7% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 21.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 80,869 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $11,971,000 after acquiring an additional 14,177 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth about $245,000. LMR Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 26.2% during the third quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 2,270 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 9,802 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $173.37. 1,079,481 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,889,513. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $183.81 and its 200-day moving average is $172.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Expedia Group has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.