Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting Expedia Group Stock Will Climb or Sink?

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Valued at a market cap of $23.2 billion, Expedia Group, Inc. (EXPE) is an online travel company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It operates a portfolio of well-known travel brands, including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire, and Egencia and offers a wide range of travel services such as hotel bookings, airline tickets, car rentals, vacation packages, and cruise reservations. 

This travel services provider has outperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. Shares of EXPE have rallied 42.5% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 16.6%. However, on a YTD basis, the stock is down 1.9%, lagging behind SPX’s 8.3% return. 

Zooming in further, EXPE has also outpaced the Consumer Disc ETF Vanguard’s (VCR17.5% uptick over the past 52 weeks. However, it has lagged behind the ETF’s marginal loss on a YTD basis. 

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On May 8, Expedia Group delivered weaker-than-expected Q1 results, and its shares tumbled 7.3% in the following trading session. The company’s revenue improved 3.4% year-over-year to $3 billion, but fell short of Wall Street's expectations by 1.3% due to underwhelming travel demand in the U.S. Moreover, while its adjusted EPS of $0.41 surged 90.5% from the year-ago quarter, it missed analyst estimates by 4.8%.

For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect EXPE’s EPS to grow 28.8% year over year to $12.12. The company’s earnings surprise history is mixed. It exceeded the consensus estimates in two of the last four quarters, while missing on two other occasions. 

Among the 32 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy,” which is based on 11 “Strong Buy,” one "Moderate Buy,” 19 “Hold,” and one "Strong Sell” rating. 

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The configuration is slightly less bullish than three months ago, when the stock had no “Strong Sell” rating. 

On Jul. 28, UBS Group AG (UBS) maintained a "Neutral" rating on EXPE and raised its price target to $182. As of the time of writing, the company is trading slightly above this price target. 

The mean price target of $191.94 represents a 5% premium from EXPE’s current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $290 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 58.6%.


On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.