Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Announces Earnings Results

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24, Zacks reports. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $20.39 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Booking Trading Up 0.4 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,909.23 on Wednesday. Booking has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4,646.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,804.74. The stock has a market cap of $160.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Booking stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 42 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eleven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,263.28.

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.