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

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5,370.43.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,789.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,700.90. Booking has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Equities analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.