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Have you been paying attention to shares of Booking Holdings (BKNG)? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 16.1% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $4916.01 in the previous session. Booking Holdings has gained 38.6% since the start of the year compared to the 23.8% move for the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector and the 32.2% return for the Zacks Internet - Commerce industry.
What's Driving the Outperformance?
The stock has an impressive record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on October 30, 2024, Booking Holdings reported EPS of $83.89 versus consensus estimate of $77.94 while it beat the consensus revenue estimate by 4.76%.
For the current fiscal year, Booking Holdings is expected to post earnings of $181.12 per share on $23.37 billion in revenues. This represents a 18.99% change in EPS on a 9.38% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $209.29 per share on $25.24 billion in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 15.55% and 7.98%, respectively.
Valuation Metrics
Booking Holdings may be at a 52-week high right now, but what might the future hold for the stock? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company is due for a pullback from this level.
On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as these give investors a variety of ways to comb through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). These styles are represented by grades running from A to F in the categories of Value, Growth, and Momentum, while there is a combined VGM Score as well. The idea behind the style scores is to help investors pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.
Booking Holdings has a Value Score of C. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are A and D, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B.
In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 27.1X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is a premium to the peer industry average of 25X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 28.3X versus its peer group's average of 14.9X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 1.53. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.
Zacks Rank
We also need to consider the stock's Zacks Rank, as this supersedes any trend on the style score front. Fortunately, Booking Holdings currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) thanks to rising earnings estimates.