StockNews.com Upgrades Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 price objective (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 2.5 %

Booking stock opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. Booking has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market cap of $152.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4,779.09 and a 200-day moving average of $4,740.07.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $507,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $5,083,000. 111 Capital bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,006,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Booking by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,735,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 131 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.