Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) Insider Robert Dzielak Sells 8,225 Shares

Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) insider Robert Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total transaction of $1,816,244.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 102,480 shares in the company, valued at $22,629,633.60. This trade represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE traded down $6.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $244.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,031,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,944,141. The business has a fifty day moving average of $253.69 and a 200-day moving average of $241.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $30.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.41. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.01 and a 12 month high of $303.80.

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

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.24%.

Expedia Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Expedia Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that OpenAI is rethinking ChatGPT shopping prompted a relief rally across travel platforms, lifting Booking and Expedia as investors priced in potential distribution/traffic upside for online travel agents. Booking and Expedia Stocks Jump on Report
• Positive Sentiment: Investor buying ahead of the upcoming dividend appears to have contributed to heavy demand—coverage notes shares climbed as investors bought to qualify for the payout. Expedia Climbs Ahead of Higher Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: roughly 9,228 call contracts were bought (?46% above normal), which suggests speculative bullish positioning or hedging ahead of news/earnings. (No link available.)
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships that monetize event-demand forecasting could open B2B growth avenues for Expedia (new revenue streams beyond consumer bookings), a strategic development investors may view as longer?term upside. Expedia Partnership Turns Event Demand Forecasts Into B2B Growth Question
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary pieces and “trending” writeups noted the share move and put the action in context of sector dynamics and option flows—informational, not new fundamental data. Expedia Group Stock Is Trending Overnight
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Robert J. Dzielak (Chief Legal Officer) sold 8,225 shares for ~$1.82M at an average price of $220.82, trimming his stake ~7.4%. Large insider sales can weigh on sentiment even if routine. SEC Filing: Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction: Mizuho cut its price target on EXPE to $245 and kept a Neutral rating, a constraining view versus recent upside that may cap some momentum. Mizuho Lowers Price Target to $245
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported no meaningful change (odd zero-value reporting), so short-covering is unlikely to be a primary driver based on available figures. (No link available.)

Institutional Trading of Expedia Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $222,000. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $464,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 5,608 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $266.00 target price on Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Expedia Group from $281.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.74.

About Expedia Group

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.