Erste Group Bank Forecasts Increased Earnings for Booking

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Booking in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $10.43 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $10.39. The consensus estimate for Booking’s current full-year earnings is $10.48 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Booking’s FY2027 earnings at $12.33 EPS.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on BKNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

Booking Trading Down 3.2%

BKNG opened at $199.09 on Monday. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $226.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $192.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.79.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3,475.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Company Profile

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.