Nomura Securities Maintains a 'Neutral' on Expedia (EXPE); 4Q Review & Raising PT
EXPE Hot Sheet
Rating Summary:9 Buy, 16 Hold, 2 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 20 | Down: 11 | New: 38
Nomura Securities maintains a 'Neutral' on Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) price target raised from $36.50 to $38.00.
Analyst, Brian Nowak, said, "Expedia reported 4Q:11 adjusted EBITDA of $162mn, 2% ahead of us, but 7% below the Street. Focus was on 2012E guidance as Expedia expects 2012E adjusted EBITDA growth in the mid-single digits (off of the $711m base), which was 2% above the Street but 5% above our Street-low estimate. Revenue per room night came up short (falling 5% yoy vs. our estimate of +1%). The revenue per room night miss was caused by FX, greater chain vs. independent hotel mix, costs of new loyalty programs, as well as continued “competitive pricing actions” by EXPE. The company said it has not changed its capital return philosophy and “very much believes in reducing its share count over the long term”, and we are therefore continuing to model the company to buy back $400m of stock each year. We are lowering our 2012E revenue by 2%, but raising our 2012E EBITDA by 5% to $746m (now at 5% growth yoy). Flowing through the change to 2013, we are raising our price target."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Expedia click here. For more ratings news on Expedia click here.
Shares of Expedia closed at $34.16 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $19.61-$34.25.
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Analyst, Brian Nowak, said, "Expedia reported 4Q:11 adjusted EBITDA of $162mn, 2% ahead of us, but 7% below the Street. Focus was on 2012E guidance as Expedia expects 2012E adjusted EBITDA growth in the mid-single digits (off of the $711m base), which was 2% above the Street but 5% above our Street-low estimate. Revenue per room night came up short (falling 5% yoy vs. our estimate of +1%). The revenue per room night miss was caused by FX, greater chain vs. independent hotel mix, costs of new loyalty programs, as well as continued “competitive pricing actions” by EXPE. The company said it has not changed its capital return philosophy and “very much believes in reducing its share count over the long term”, and we are therefore continuing to model the company to buy back $400m of stock each year. We are lowering our 2012E revenue by 2%, but raising our 2012E EBITDA by 5% to $746m (now at 5% growth yoy). Flowing through the change to 2013, we are raising our price target."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Expedia click here. For more ratings news on Expedia click here.
Shares of Expedia closed at $34.16 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $19.61-$34.25.
Discover Wall Street's best ratings calls with the pros - Ratings Insider Elite. Free Trial!
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