Erste Group Bank Downgrades Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) to Hold

Erste Group Bank cut shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 price objective (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W upgraded Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,471.51 on Monday. Booking has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4,803.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,691.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 232.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Booking by 88.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 168 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 94 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Booking by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,083,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.