Expedia Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 8,389 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,744 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EXPE shares. StockNews.com raised Expedia Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Expedia Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Nineteen equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.43.

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Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock traded up $3.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $176.89. 540,152 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,899,970. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $183.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.03. Expedia Group has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73. The company has a market capitalization of $22.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, 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 (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Expedia Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Expedia Group by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,055 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 165.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,617 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $4,960,000 after acquiring an additional 16,587 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $7,899,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $16,555,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% 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 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.